Love You To Death
by speed killz
Summary: Can love between two people be so strong that one cannot exist without the other? Jo exists only to fight and to protect Meg. Meg only wants Jo to be safe. Angst, Fighting, and of course, Meg and Jo love. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Love You To Death

Meg looked up from her bowl of curried rice as Amy walked through the doorway, toting her laptop.

"Hey Amy, have you seen Jo?"

Amy seated herself at the table, and opened her laptop. It swiftly powered on, and a retina scanner automatically checked her identity. A second later, and her account was unlocked and ready to use.

"She's actually just finishing up in the shower." Amy replied absent-mindedly, fingers flying across the keys. "She should be out here in a few minutes."

Meg nodded, and slipped her fingers through her hair. She yawned, and finished up her rice. She hadn't had much of an appetite the last few days; the nights had been sleepless.

She didn't know why, but sleep would not come to her in the last few warm summer nights. She had often given up on finding sleep completely, and instead slipped out of their mobile fortress to wander the streets and contemplate her lack of sleep. Her walks were aimless; she cared not where she wandered. She knew her way back to the mobile fortress no matter which direction she took off in. She always returned as the sun was just starting to rise. Sei was the only one awake at that time, and had taken to unlocking the door when she got up instead of leaving Meg to climb back in through a top exit.

This morning had been no different; Sei had cast a questioning eye upon her as Meg slipped in quietly, but said nothing. Meg volunteered nothing, and went to see what there was for breakfast.

There was no work lined up for today, and Meg was glad. The busy days and sleepless nights were taking their toll, and she wanted to just relax and doze off while reading a book or something.

Jo walked into the room, a single white shirt covering her naked body, hair dripping wet. Her dark red eyes shifted to and from each person in the room with no hesitation in between; a silent greeting that told them Jo hadn't simply ignored them. Jo walked into the kitchen and rummaged through the cupboards, retrieving a simple chocolate bar.

Meg followed Jo's movements with her eyes, and couldn't help but appreciate once more the curves flowing over tight toned muscles, the warrior oblivious to the gaze.

As Jo sat down, Meg looked at her food choice with a critical eye. "Is that really the best thing for you to be eating, Jo?" She asked.

Jo wasn't too inclined to pointless conversation, but for Meg she made a bit of an exception.

"Our cook isn't here. It'll do." With that, Jo slowly took another bite, her gaze dropping once more to the table's surface. Meg wondered again for possibly the thousandth time why Jo seemed so tired and lifeless when she wasn't fighting. It was almost like she existed only to fight. Like it was the only thing that could make her happy.

A frown lightly curved the edges of Meg's lips as she thought about no one and nothing being able to make Jo happy like she was when she was fighting. Meg wished that it could be her who made Jo happy. But Jo never seemed happy. Not since the day they had met. Jo was never happy, excited, or...anything. Nothing got a reaction from her, until she had to fight.

Meg sighed, and looked out the window. Thats the way it had always been, though. Why expect things to change now...?

Meg got up from the table, and walked away, heading for her room. Once inside, she closed the door and dropped onto the bed. She grabbed a book from her bedside table, and opened it up to the bookmark. As she began reading, her troubled mind slowly began to let go of her problems.

Jo got up from the table, and stretched. She figured she had better go get dressed in case they got some work. She glanced out the window, and her gaze caught nothing unusual. Her feet carried her to her room, where she half-closed her door. Privacy was a foreign concept to her; she did not know why she must remain hidden while changing. They certainly never cared in the training facility where they grew up.

_'Sei says that's because we weren't seen as humans, but as weaopons. Here, I am considered a human to them-yet I am used as their greatest weapon, almost every day.'_

These thoughts rolled through Jo's head with indifference as she slipped out of her shirt. It fell silently to the floor as she pulled her usual battle-ready uniform toward her.

In the end Jo didn't care whether she was considered human, weapon, or thoughtless animal. She was among people who supplied her constant work, paid her enough to feed and clothe herself, and purchase anything else as she saw fit. Everything else was immaterial. Her bank account contained many many numbers; the result of spending only as needed, and being spared the all-too-human 'impulse buying' that Meg was quite proficient at. They had been working for many many months for Sei, almost too many to count. If they ever disbanded, Jo was confident she would have the appropriate funding needed to keep her going until she could find more work. And when it came to work, it had nothing to do with making money. It was all about feeding the beast inside her that craved violence, blood, the fight. Jo liked fighting. It was always on her mind. She immersed herself in all aspects of it, and considered herself quite an intelligent tactician for being self-taught. Of course, being engineered for such a thing helped immensely, she thought with a rare wry smile.

In a rare mood, Jo turned her thoughts over to Meg. Of course, being an engineered and precisely developed human war machine came with a few problems...namely, being human. The more Jo hung around this particular set of humans, the more her human nature tried to resurface. Sometimes, the more...sensual side of her human nature would force its way through, leaving Jo half-crazed and wanting.

Jo's hand strayed to her hips, as her fingertips brushed lightly across her navel.

_'Meg...'_

Jo's hand curled into a fist, and fell to her side. Her gaze hardened, and she finished up with her battle gear.

Of course, Jo allowed Meg to tag along for a few reasons. Meg would complain obnoxiously if she couldn't, and Meg always had a way of finding trouble. Jo couldn't ask for a better trouble-finder if she asked Amy to design and build one. The fighting that always ensued sent Jo into a blissful state where her mind blocked out everything except her opponent and the joy of knowing that ultimately, this opponent would be brought to its knees and crushed, like so many others.

"JO!"

Jo looked up as Meg knocked twice, then charged into her room.

"Get ready to deploy Django! Four unknown cybots are approaching, and Amy thinks we're the target! Sei wants you battle-prepped and ready to take off in forty-five seconds!"

Jo nodded once, and grabbed her jacket off her bed. She slipped into it, and took off out the door, Meg following closely behind.

Jo ran to the end of the hall, and turned right. Then a swift left took her to the hanger. She jumped up onto Django, and slid effortlessly into the cockpit. She turned the key that was already in the ignition one click to the right, and the electronics came on. The restraint bar came down over her head, and pulled her back into the seat even as the seat slid forward to bring her within operating distance of the controls. Jo reached up and flipped down a control console. She flipped three switches at once, and pushed the console back up, out of her way. Slowly, three whirring engines spun to life, and the cockpit hummed as energy flowed through Django, energizing everything that wasn't energized when she turned the key. Her right foot found the booster pedal of its own accord, and rested on it. Her right hand flew to the console to her immediate right, and her left thumb activated the two-way comm even as her other fingers flew across the keyboard, running pre-flight diagnostics and commanding the computer to bring up all the details Amy and her computer had collected about the incoming cybots.

"Open the gate!" Jo commanded, and a second later, a hydraulic whine permeated the air as the roof slowly lifted up.

Jo listened to the engines whining at idle, and without looking, reached up and pushed three sliders all the way to full stop. Immediately, the engines' speed picked up, and the noise in the cockpit increased until they reached full throttle, where the noise levelled off and dropped away, replaced only by the whistling of forced induction.

Ready for battle, Jo checked her weapon loadout, then took the joysticks in her hands. Django was now in the hands of a war-craving, hot-blooded girl, who was getting more excited with each passing second as Django took off, picking up speed rapidly.

Meg ran into the 'armory', one of the bedrooms in the trailer that housed most of their weapons. She opened a cabinet, and pulled out an M-60. The heavy weapon strained her muscles, but it was slightly lighter than the last few times she had lugged it. She threw it over her shoulder, and grabbed a few belts of ammunition, slinging them around her neck. She jogged out of the armory, and turned down the hall. She found the access ladder leading to the top of the trailer where Jo always watched her movies, and climbed it with only slight difficulty. Once she was on the fifth from top rung, and her upper body was visible above the edge, she set up the M-60 on its bipod.

"Amy!" Meg hollered down. "Give me some way of communicating with Jo!"

A second later, Amy appeared at the bottom of the access ladder, and tossed up a two-way radio. Meg caught it, and set it down on the trailer. She pulled a belt of ammo off, and loaded it into the gun. She racked the slide, and flicked off the safety. Picking up the two-way radio, she pressed the button.

"Jo, it's Meg! Try to stay around the back of the trailer, I'll lend you support!"

There was silence from the two-way radio, and Meg tossed it aside as Django flew into her view. A second later, a black cybot followed overhead, both arms opening fire with attached chain guns. Large shells from the attacking cybot slammed down onto the trailer, before rolling off harmlessly. Meg targeted the airborne cybot as Django slammed into the pavement, skidding backward. The airborne enemy slowed and righted itself as its non-stop chain gun bounced rounds off of Django. Meg slipped a finger inside the trigger-guard, and braced the gun against her shoulder. She exhaled slowly, and squeezed the trigger. The gun recoiled into her shoulder violently as it erupted into ear-shattering fire. The muzzle-flame stretched a foot and a half from the barrel as it spit red tracer rounds into the air. Meg guided the rounds into the back of the cybot, targeting any weak points she could find, like joints, hydraulic hoses, and jet exhaust ports. Meg gritted her teeth in anger as her bare shoulder slowly became numb from the repeated assault of the gun's recoiling stock.

Jo pulled Django's guns out, and tightened her grip on her joysticks. Her trigger fingers rested lightly on the dual triggers, and it only took a second before Django's targeting system centered on the incoming cybot. As she squeezed the triggers, Django's guns lit up, shells smashing into the cybot. The heavier caliber shells did more damage to the cybot than the lighter, yet unending onslaught of chain-gun fire, and Jo watched in satisfaction as the cybot shuddered visibly in the air, before listing to one side.

Jo slammed the left joystick all the way forward, and Django tilted forward, beginning to move. Django rolled forward, and Jo`s foot pressed down on the booster pedal. Jo was pressed back into her seat as the thrusters on the back of Django ignited, forcing her craft to accelerate hard. Jo`s right hand expertly guided the right stick to the left, and that was the direction Django turned, guns coming around to target another cybot that had come in to lend a hand.

Meg saw the cybot in front of her tilted sharply in front of her, dropping a few feet in the air, and it was obvious that Jo had done some damage. Another cybot had swooped down, and was lending a hand. This one was equipped with a grenade launcher, and a rocket launcher.

"Amy! What is Sei doing?"

Her question was answered as the trailer roared to life, and immediately began moving. Meg's view of the enemy ceased to be stationary, as she now became the gunner of a moving vehicle.

"Meg, your two way radio is on the same frequency as our personal communicators, Django, and the trailers cab. No need to holler down the hallways." Her radio sqawked. Meg picked it up, one finger still on the trigger of her gun.

"Sei, if you're piloting the trailer, get Amy to be a runner for ammo, and get Leo up here with something that goes bang!"

"Wilco."

A minute later, Leo popped his head out of another hatch about ten feet away, grinning at Meg.

"You needed firepower?" He asked, propping a surface-to-air missle launcher on his shoulder.

Meg nodded, and pointed to the horizon, where Jo was now surrounded by all four cybots.

"Kill them alllll!" She yelled, squeezing once more on the trigger of her gun. If Leo had responded, she didn't hear him, as she once more guided her red tracer rounds into the back of the wounded cybot. A few seconds later, Leo fired, the missle streaking up into the air, heading straight for the hovering, black cybots. It smashed into the wounded cybot with lethal and explosive force, rupturing the cybot and exploding it from within as all the fuel ignited in a retina-searing explosion.

Meg pumped her fist in the air even as he gun clicked empty, her barrel smoking.

"Yeah! Good shot Leo!"

Leo smiled as he reloaded. "You usually never get this excited about battle. Whats gotten into you?"

Meg wasn't sure she knew. So she shook her head. "I don't know." She said, reloading her gun. "But a girl could get used to this."

Jo watched as one of the hovering cybots- the one with the chain guns- exploded in mid-air, and Jo brought her guns around to target another one. As she was about to open fire, the cybot beat her to it. The large rocket launcher it was carrying went off, and Jo immediately pulled back on the left joystick, slamming her foot down on the boost pedal. Flaps on the front of Django opened, and the boosters went off, propelling her backward quickly. Nevertheless, Jo's preferred method of close combat proved a mistake, as the shell slammed into the ground in close proximity. The impact rocked Django sideways, and Jo slammed her head against the cockpit wall. She winced, and gritted her teeth as she felt warm blood trickling down the side of her face.

"DIE!"

Jo's bloodlust only got stronger, and she brought Django's guns up, firing as quickly as she could pull the triggers. The targeting system put every bullet right where she wanted them, and that cybot spiraled to the ground, black smoke pouring out of the engine compartment. Jo guided Django over to the fallen cybot, and pressed her gun against the cockpit. A shot rang out, and the pilot was dead.

Without wasting a second, Jo spun around, just in time to see the two remaining cybots join together in a side-by-side formation. They appeared to be only equipped with machine guns, but they were not to be underestimated.

Meg, hair blowing in the wind, targeted the pair of cybots, and opened fire. Her tracers flew toward the cybots, impacting them as they slowed in the face of the approaching Jo.

They both opened fire at the same time, and a wall of lead smashed into Django, denting it in some places, piercing it in others. Meg, still firing, watched as Leo took aim once more. As he fired, one of them noticed, and broke formation, turning to pursue the trailer. It opened fire on the approaching missle, and got a lucky hit, the resulting explosion damaging neither the moving trailer, nor the pursuing cybot.

Meg trained her gun on the approaching cybot, covering Leo as he reloaded. She squeezed the trigger in short bursts, not wanting the remaining ammunition in her belt to be used up before Leo could reload.

Meg grabbed the two-way radio, and pressed the button.

"Amy! Sei! One of the cybots is pursuing us! Keep up evasive action! Amy! Get me my anti-tank rifle from the armory, and be careful! Stay low and close to walls so you don't hurt yourself it we get rocked by an explosion!"

Meg dropped the two-way as the trailer veered sharply to the right. Suddenly Meg's stomach was in her toes as the trailer rose sharply; they were on a ramp leading to the Mega-Highway. She reloaded quickly as Leo positioned himself for another shot. Before he could get it off though, the pilot opened fire.

"Take cover!" Meg yelled, ducking into the hatch. She saw Leo do the same, right as she ducked beneath the ledge. She could feel and hear the rounds impacting the trailer, and fought the urge to scream. Sure, she was terrified, but she was doing so well so far, and she wanted Jo to be proud of her when she came back.

"Meg!"

Meg opened her eyes, and saw Amy toting her Anti-Tank Rifle, with some difficulty.

"Thanks Amy!" Meg grabbed it, and hauled it up. She took a few deep breaths, to steady herself, then nodded.

"Bring me ammo! For both guns! When you're done, see if Leo needs more!"

Amy nodded, and took off running.

"Ready, steady, GO!"

Meg pushed the gun over the edge, onto the trailer, and raised herself out so she could see.

She cocked it, and glared at the cybot giving chase.

"Take this you bastaaaaaard!"

Meg squeezed both triggers. The guns erupted with surprising force, now that she was using two powerful weapons, and she almost fell off the ladder. The spray from her M-60 went wild, only a few rounds bouncing off the pursuing cybot, as the shot from her ATR narrowly missed.

The cybot pilot chose that time to get closer, to try to find weak points in the trailers massive armor. Leo grunted as he fired, the missle streaking off toward the cybot. Meg racked the slide, ejecting the spent shell and loading a new one. Her magazine held five shots; she was down to four. The missle slammed into the cybot, rocking it harshly in the air, and it dropped back a few feet, no doubt the pilot trying to recover and do damage control.

Meg took careful aim, counting on the pilots disorientation to make this shot hit. She pulled the trigger, and the powerful Anti-Tank Rifle went off with a deafening explosion. The shell whistled through the air, before impacting the tough cockpit covering. It shattered, and Meg directed her M-60 gunfire toward it. She only got a few shots off before her gun clicked empty though, and it was back below decks as the angry pilot unleashed a storm of machine gun fire.

Jo grimaced as the enemies gunfire slammed into Django, but she ignored it, and brought her guns to bear upon the remaining enemy. The other one had fled, in pursuit of the trailer. Jo had to end this quickly; Meg was in danger.

She squeezed off rounds as quickly as she could, and they found their mark. However, the pilot surprised Jo by rushing her, all guns blazing. His superior rate of fire quickly had her seeing red as the cybot closed the distance to only about fifteen feet.

Muzzle-flash filled Jo's vision, and her ears were assaulted as several warnings went off inside the cockpit, warning her of the damage. The warnings were accented by the jarring and shuddering of Django. Jo figured this was how many a battle had been won; rushing with overwhelming gunfire.

Jo's pupils dilated, and she licked some blood off her lip. She wasn't losing today. With the taste of blood in her mouth, she swiftly reached over, and entered a command into the computer. Immediately, Django released the gun in its right hand, even as a compartment on the arm opened, and a knife slid out. Django grasped the knife tightly, and with rage quickly taking over, Jo rammed the blade deep into the cybot. The cybot stopped instantly, gunfire also ceased, and Jo pushed it over, yanking the blade out. As the machine hit the ground, Jo fired one shot, finishing off the cybot and its pilot.

Jo turned, and pointed Django in the direction of the fleeing trailer, as indicated by her radar. She pressed the boost pedal, and was pressed back into her seat as Django quickly accelerated to top speed.

_'Meg better be okay.'_ Was her only thought as she guided Django onto the ramp leading to the Mega-Highway. She would really have to discuss Django's inability to fly with the mechanic, Leo. If he spent less time waxing and polishing the damn machine and more time upgrading it, she wouldn't be having these problems.

Meg heard the gunfire stop, and wondered for a second if that was just to lure them back out into the open. She didn't know, but staying hidden wouldn't fix their problems. She slowly poked her head up above the ledge, and when it didn't get shot off, she risked looking a little more. The cybot was still following them, but now with obvious difficulty. The damage was taking its toll, the machine wobbling back and forth in the air as it tried to follow, black smoke pouring out of it. Seeing it struggle like that raised Meg's spirits, and she once more pointed her gun at the following cybot. Before she could fire off the killing shot though, the cybot suddenly accelerated. It sped up until it was over the trailer, then dropped down onto it with a heavy thud and a groan of stressed metal. As it focused its weapons on the trailer underneath it, Meg froze. She wasn't sure whether or not to shoot it. Surely Leo couldn't, what with it being this close, and the nature of his weapon quite explosive.

"Hit the deck!" Meg's thoughts were interrupted by Leo's warning, and she quickly ducked down, pulling the hatch closed above her. She winced, eyes shut tight, and waited for the sharp impact of high-caliber rounds, but they never came.

Jo saw the cybot chasing the trailer up ahead, and she wished that Django had a slightly higher top speed. Nevertheless, this would have to do. She watched as the cybot, trailing smoke and limping after the trailer, landed on the trailer. Jo activated the voice communications.

"Sei! Brake stand! NOW!"

Jo watched in satisfaction as the trailer pitched forward, unsettling the giant cybot perched precariously on top, and momentarily preventing the pilot from opening fire. Suddenly, the distance between them started closing, very rapidly.

Jo never gave the pilot a chance; she accelerated past him at an unbelievable rate of speed, only to turn her craft around and focus on the cockpit. One shot from her gun fragmented the damaged cybot, and it exploded as it fell from the back of the trailer.

"Enemy threat eliminated." Jo said shortly, before releasing the comms button. Immediately her comms system lit up with incoming congratulations.

"Well done Jo. Nothing short of spectacular." Sei's calm voice acknowledged, as she opened the trailer for Django.

"Good job Jo!" Amy's excited voice rang out.

"How hard did you bang up my craft?" Leo asked jokingly, but she could hear the approval in his voice.

"I...I'm glad you're okay Jo. Come back to me."

Jo didn't answer as she landed in the bay, powering down the engines, and running post-battle diagnostics.

_'Hold on Meg...I'm coming to you.'_

Meg waited anxiously for Jo to exit Django. When she did, her eyes immediately found the trail of blood staining her hair, trickling down from her temple, smearing across her chin. Her lips had the dark stain of blood on them, and there were nearly dried smears on the back of her hands.

"Jo! What happened? Are you okay!" Meg rushed to her side, concern written across her face, but Jo merely nodded.

"It's fine. It doesn't even hurt."

"You should still get it looked at."

"No need."

Sei pushed herself off the wall, and smiled at Jo.

"Once more, our warrior takes on more than her fair share, and comes out the victor." She said. "Well done." She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a wail from Leo. "Th-this is terrible! Look at all this damage! And of course Django is missing one of her guns! JO! Be more careful!"

Jo said nothing; merely left the trailer.

_'I do what it takes to protect Meg...Everything else is immaterial. Even Django, my war machine. My Harbinger of Death, my favourite way of satisfying my hunger for large-scale destruction and violence...' _Jo glanced at Meg out of the corner of her eye.  
_'Immaterial.'_

A/N: Well, that's the first chapter of Love You To Death. I don't know how many chapters it will take to finish up this particular plot bunny, but rest assured I'm already working on the next. It's been a while since I've posted anything on , but I'm looking forward to becoming an active member once more. Reviews are most appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Love You To Death, Chapter Two.

Meg followed Jo into her room, wanting to make sure everything was okay.

"Let me take a look at your head, Jo." Meg said, watching Jo shrug out of her jacket. Jo said nothing and dropped her coat onto the floor. She moved over to the bed, and sat on it, leaning against the wall. She pulled her knees up to her chest, and crossed her arms. She lowered her forehead to her knees, and Meg wondered if Jo had even heard her.

_'How could she not have?'_ Meg thought, moving to the side of the bed.

"Jo!"

Jo's head came up, and she fixed her gaze on Meg,

"Stop ignoring me. Please." Meg said softly. "I just want to make sure you're alright."

Jo held her gaze for a moment, unblinking.

"I am alright. I am not weak. It's not a major wound."

"I know you're not weak, Jo, but..."

"But...?" Jo asked.

"But I worry about you. You're usually never like this. You let me fuss around until my mind is eased that you're okay, and then you tell me how silly I am for worrying. You won't even let me near you." Meg's voice began to tremble. "Either something is really wrong, or...or you're sick of me."

Jo was silent, contemplating her answer. Meg had lowered her gaze, and Jo could tell she was on the verge of crying.

"I believe my withdrawal from you is based on guilt." Jo said quietly.

Meg looked up, but Jo had already put her head back down.

"Guilt...?"

"I have done something to make you lose trust in me. You believe I am weak."

Meg's eyes widened, and she took a step closer. "No! I don't! Why would you think that?"

Jo raised her head to meet Meg's gaze, and her eyes were filled with an emotion Meg couldn't remember ever seeing in Jo before. Hurt. Emotional pain. She looked like a whipped dog.

"Then why else would you put yourself at risk by attacking those cybots? I could have protected you myself. If I'm...not good enough anymore, what other use do you have for me? Will you just...throw me away?"

Meg didn't know what to say. She felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes at the thought of tossing Jo away.

"You...idiot." Meg knelt onto the bed, and crawled to Jo's side. She wrapped her arms around Jo's shoulders, and pulled her close.

"Jo, I could never throw you away. You mean the world to me. You are my world. I've only ever had you, and you've only ever had me. It would kill me to leave your side. I fought because I'm tired of being useless. I want to help. I don't want to see you out there every day, getting smashed up. I never know if the next time I see you off in Django, whether or not it will be the last time I ever see you alive. It hurts me. I want to help, in any way I can. You risk your life, why can't I risk mine?"

Jo's heatbeat quickened as she was pulled tighter to Meg's chest. Meg slowly stroked her hair, fingertips sliding softly down the side of her face. Jo could tell by the shallow, irregular breaths that Meg was trying to stop her tears, yet failing.

"You aren't useless Meg. You're the furthest thing from it. You're my prize for a job well done. Every time I finish a battle, the one thing I want to do above all else is see your smiling face. It`s my job to risk my life. To see that you are safe. As long as I fight for you, you don`t need to put yourself in danger. Because...if something were to happen to you, I don`t know what I would do. Go crazy. Shoot things."

Meg giggled a bit at that.

"Always remember that you have me, Meg. You have me to fight for you, because that is what I was built to do. And I have you. And I want to have you safe and unhurt. So you don't need to fight. You just need to wait for me. Because in the end, I'll always come back to you."

Meg blushed. "It's just...hard, to watch you fight out there. You know how much I care about you, Jo. And if there is ever anything I can do to help, I'm going to do it the best I can."

Jo was silent for a minute. "Can I not talk you out of it?"

Meg shook her head. "I don't think so."

Jo pulled away slowly, and looked her in the eye. "I have to. I'm the killer. My life is already forfeit. You cannot follow my path. I won't allow it."

Meg leaned forward and touched the tip of her nose to Jo's. "If it comes down to your life or theirs, I won't hesitate to pull the trigger. You mean so much more to me than that." She whispered. Jo stared at her unblinkingly, and Meg tried to match her stare, but the strain quickly wore on her eyes. She pulled away, but not before licking the tip of Jo's nose. Jo blinked, and Meg giggled.

"Come on. Enough talk. You're starting to worry me. You've said more in the last five minutes than you do in a week."

Jo was silent, regarding her with a guarded stare.

"Let's shower. We both could use one."

Meg didn't get an answer; she never expected one. Jo merely followed behind her, stripping off her clothes. Meg did the same, and walked into the bathroom. It was a small one-person shower stall, but neither of them minded. The few times they managed to find time to shower together, neither said a word. They just enjoyed the peace and silence, and the feeling of having the other near.

Meg reached in, and turned on the water. Instantly, cold water burst forth from the high-pressure shower head, and Meg withdrew her arm swiftly, shivering.

"Needs to warm up."

Jo thought about asking her why she made that statement every time they were about to shower, when one instance of the episode dictated that it would continue happening every time thereafter, but decided against it. It was most likely one of those human things she knew too little about.

Jo looked at Meg as Meg looked at Jo; Meg smiled softly whilst Jo remained expressionless.

A few seconds later, and the first tendrils of steam began to rise. Meg stuck a hand in tentatively, then giggled and pulled Jo in with her. Jo closed the sliding plexiglass door behind her, and turned to face Meg.

They were chest to chest, the slightly shorter red-haired girl looking up at her emotionless idol with admiration clear on her features. Meg reached up and slipped her arms around Jo's neck.

"Jo..."

"Yes, Meg?"

"You'll never leave me, will you?"

Jo was silent for a moment, then closed her eyes. She put her arms around Meg's waist, and pulled her tight against her body.

Meg barely caught the whisper over the hissing shower.

"Never."

Amy looked up as Meg and Jo entered the kitchen. They were both minimally clothed, though Jo had her guns, and their hair was soaking wet. A snide comment passed through Amy`s head, but she kept it to herself. Jo looked more pensive than usual, and she didn`t want to irritate their warrior.

"Jo, whenever you have time, Leo wants to see you in the hangar." Amy said. Jo glanced at her, and Amy smirked. "Probably wants to give you grief for wrecking Django." She said. "Seriously, why haven't you castrated him for all the lip he gives you?"

Jo didn't answer; she turned and walked away, heading for the hangar. Meg stared after her, but only for a sec. She needed to tend to her rumbling stomach.

"Going to stuff your face again, eh Meg?" Amy prodded. "Get any fatter, and I don't know how Jo will be able to handle looking at you!"

"Shut it, punk." Meg muttered, disregarding her. She paused a second later though, her hand outstretched for the box of cookies on the shelf. A quick moment of indecision, and she grabbed a banana from the counter, peeling it as she muttered under her breath about saucy kids who didn't know their place.

"Don't bad-mouth me, I'm trying to get you laid." Amy snickered, looking her up and down. "At least one of us is trying to, anyway."  
Meg looked down at herself. "Whats wrong with me?" She asked, offended.

Amy shook her head, said nothing, and looked out the window.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!"

Amy suddenly cocked her head to the side. "What's that? Coming, Sei!" She got up from the table, and took off, laughing.

Meg wanted to grab her and wring her neck, but decided against it. She slowly ate the rest of her banana, and disposed of the peel.

Jo walked into the hangar, and was greeted by Leo.

"Hey there, Jo. Got a minute?"

Jo nodded, and stepped closer to the kneeling mechanic. "Yes. I wanted to talk to you about Django."

Leo chuckled, and slowly got up from where he was kneeling by Django.

"Well, what luck. I wanted to talk to you as well."

"Make Django fly." Jo said.

Leo was silent for a minute. "Rather straightforward and to the point, as usual." He remarked. Then he shrugged. "What was with you today?"

Jo stared at him unblinkingly. "Nothing was with me." She answered.

Leo sighed, and wondered how to phrase his question.

"Was...something bothering you? Something on your mind while you were trying to fight?"

Jo looked away from him and gazed up at the damaged cybot.

"No. Why do you ask?"

Leo followed her gaze. "Well, Django has a very sophisticated pilot monitoring system. I don't know too much about it, but Amy showed me how to print out the biometric scans. It showed that you were very troubled during todays battle. You weren't fighting to your full capacity. Not even close. You..._struggled_, Jo. It wasn't like you."

Jo said nothing, but when her gaze fell back to Leo, the glare was evident. Leo pushed on.

"What was bothering you? Django's self-monitoring system found no software errors, and there were no hardware issues to hinder you or bother you. What was on your mind, Jo? I'm curious." Leo said, trying to coax her into speaking. "Was it Me-"

Before Leo could finish his sentence, Jo had whipped out her gun and leveled it in his face.

"Sei pays you to fix Django. Do not antgonize me. There are many more qualified mechanics where you come from." There was a cold tone to her threat that Leo had never heard her voice take on before, and it startled him. He had jumped profusely when she had pulled her gun on him, though he had come to expect it when she did it to others. Something in the way she spoke to him told him to push the matter no further.

"I...I see...I'm sorry Jo. The matter is clearly none of my concern."

Jo continued to hold his gaze with her own fixed, unblinking stare for a second or two more, before holstering her gun almost as fast as she had drawn it.

"Fix Django." She said coldly, before walking out.

Leo stared after her, before pushing his glasses up on the bridge of nose. Something had gotten into her, that much was clear. There was an issue bothering her, and Meg was part of that.

Leo sighed, and looked back up at Django. It was going to take a lot more work to get it operational, and with this crew, they could find trouble at any time. He knelt back down where he was working previously, and picked up the brass compression fitting. Best to get to work on the essentials. The bodywork could wait. For now.

Jo walked back into the kitchen and her eyes immediately sought out Meg. Not finding her, she proceeded to walk down the hallway toward Meg`s room. She stopped in front of her door, and knocked twice.

There was no answer. Jo grabbed the handle and turned it slowly, opening the door and looking in. The room was empty, and Jo`s eyes narrowed slightly.

Meg picked up Jo`s jacket from the floor, and held it for a moment. She had long ago memorized every line, every pocket, and the way it looked when it was curved around its owner. Meg`s fingers slowly traced over the worn material, and the feel of it was exactly how she had remembered it. Soft, resilient and yet, protective. Meg turned it around and slowly slipped her arms into the sleeves. The heavy coat seemed to embrace her, as Meg lowered her head to the collar and inhaled slowly. The unique scent of Jo clung to the jacket, and Meg felt her heart skip a beat as she was flooded with some of the many memories associated with this jacket, and the scent. The overwhelming feeling of protection and loyal friendship was as unmistakable as the smell of Jo herself, while the jacket was a symbol of everything that Meg and Jo were, and everything they had been through together. This jacket was as durable and long-lasting as their friendship.

Meg smiled, and spun around, arms stretched out. Sometimes, she liked to pretend that _she_ was the strong one, and it was her duty to protect Jo. Red hair flying out in all directions, Meg stopped, facing the door with her right arm outstretched, fingers pointed into a gun, left eye shut and head tilted slightly to the right.

"Bang, you're-JO!" Meg exclaimed. Jo was leaning against the door frame, arms folded over her chest, watching her with a neutral expression. Meg blushed, immediately embarrassed for getting caught acting like a child. "S-sorry, I didn't...see you there." She slowly lowered her arm, and looked away.

Jo straightened up, and slowly walked toward her, arms still crossed. She stopped in front of Meg, and unfolded her arms. She reached forward and grabbed the zippered edges of her jacket, pulling Meg closer until their bodies were touching. Meg looked up at Jo, face still burning. Jo leaned in until her lips were gently pressing against Meg's forehead.

"Jacket looks good on you...Meg." Jo whispered.

A/N: Well, bit shorter this time, although neither of these two chapters are as long as I'm used to. Ah well, chapter 3 shall be rife with epic of all varieties. Reviews are, as always, much appreciated. Let me know what you think so far.


	3. Chapter 3

Meg looked up at Jo when she pulled away, and smiled at her.

"You think so, Jo?" Jo nodded, and Meg's smile only got wider. "I'm glad."

Jo slowly began to pull it off of Meg, and Meg allowed herself to be undressed. On the outside, Meg was calm, her movements slow and deliberate, but her mind was racing a mile a minute.

_'Maybe...maybe Jo will kiss me tonight. Or...something more?'_ Meg's wishful thinking was interrupted when Jo dropped the jacket onto the floor. Jo's hands reached down and grabbed the hem of Meg's black shirt, pulling it up and over her head.

"J-Jo..."

Jo didn't acknowledge that she had spoken, and her eyes travelled all over Meg's body. Meg blushed, and wondered if Jo liked what she saw.

"Meg..."

"Y-yes, Jo?"

"What is this?" The warrior asked plainly, pointing to a dark bruise forming on Meg's left shoulder. Meg instantly deflated, knowing her wishful thinking had been just that.

"A bruise." She said flatly. Jo blinked at the change of tone in her voice, but did not comment on it. "How did you get it?" Jo asked quietly.

"From the recoiling M-60." Meg answered shortly. Jo's brow creased, and a worried look came over her features.

"You have been injured because of me." Jo said.

Meg looked up at her, and shook her head. "It's hardly an injury, and it was through no fault of your own. I did this. I wanted to help you."

Jo gritted her teeth, and in the most aggressive display of emotion Meg had ever seen from the girl, grabbed Meg around the waist and pulled her close.

"You are mine, and I will do everything in my power to keep you from coming to harm." Jo said, staring her in the eyes. Meg shook her head. "We had this discussion already, Jo. Remember, we didn't get anywhere? You're the only one in this world I cannot live without, and I will do anything it takes to make sure you come back to me safely. This...is nothing compared to what you have gone through."

Jo said nothing; all her counter-arguments wouldn't get her anywhere with the difficult girl. She sighed, and Meg leaned her head on Jo's shoulder. They were both silent for a minute, and Jo`s grip on Meg never loosened.

"Well, we should finish getting dressed." Jo said, after a minute. Meg whined, obviously very comfortable where she was, but Jo was insistent. "Come on, you can sleep with me tonight if you want." She coaxed. Meg agreed instantly, and released her grip on Jo.

Jo pulled away, and pulled off her own shirt. She dropped it onto her floor, and rummaged through her dresser. She found what she wanted, and pulled out a pair of black yoga pants. She slipped them on, and Meg watched from the corner of her eye as Jo pulled them up, up, and over her black lace thong. Meg licked her lips, as Jo bent over to dig through her drawers again. A second later, she stood and pulled on a tight black V-neck t-shirt that clung to her amazing figure. Jo stood, and turned around, looking at Meg. Meg's heart skipped a beat, and she was sure she had never seen a more beautiful girl in all her life. Jo's sensual form was neatly outlined by her tight clothing, and her silver hair contrasted sharply with her dark clothing. Her dark red eyes were focused on Meg, and Meg felt like she was going to pass out.

"Oh...Jo..."

"Yes, Meg?"

Meg shook her head, and stuttered out an apology. "S-sorry, I was spacing out." She said.

_'Spacing out thinking about your body...'_

Jo walked over and retrieved her jacket from the floor. "Well, I am going to the roof to watch a movie." She said. "You can watch if you like, otherwise, I will see you when it's bed time."

Meg nodded, and watched Jo walk out, the door closing softly behind her.

Meg sighed, and walked to the door. She opened it, and looked left and right for either Leo, or the cook, before running to her room. She slipped inside, and shut the door. She walked over to the small closet, and pulled down a pair of navy blue sweatpants. She pulled them on over her white panties, then folded the waistband down a few inches. She reached back into her closet, and pulled down a black zip-up hoodie. She pulled it on, and zipped it up just far enough to squeeze her breasts together, but not far enough to conceal a decent amount of cleavage, and the edges of her red lace bra.

Meg slipped her hands along the back of her neck, and flipped her hair out. She turned to the mirror on her wall, and examined herself. A self-satisfied smile crossed her face as she realized that although she looked like she was too lazy to dress decently, she was definitely still sexy.

Jo climbed onto the roof, portable television under her arm. She set it down, and sat down with her back against one of the hydraulic rams that opened Django`s bay. She reached forward, and flicked it on. Underneath, a flap opened, and ejected the VHS she had been watching a few days ago. She carefully removed it, and inserted a new one. It took a few seconds to load, and white lines flashed across the sea of black that filled the screen, before slightly distorted audio came from the speakers. A half smile settled over Jo`s face as she watched the video slowly fade in.

"Come in." The strong voice commanded, responding to the three sharp raps on the heavy oak door. The door slowly opened, almost without sound on the sturdy hinges, and only the confident footsteps of the man entering sounded in the vast room.

"Ahh, Tetsuo, what brings you up here?"

The man smiled, as Sei's grandfather slowly turned in his chair to greet the visitor.

"I have come to discuss something of great interest, and perhaps...importance, with you." He said.

"Then by all means, have a seat."

Tetsuo seated himself, and his dark eyes found the elders'.

"You, sir, control a vast majority of people, doing all kinds of work for you." He said.

The leader of Bailan nodded. "Yes, this is so."

"It is important that you be able to control these people, lest they do something that is not in the interest of Bailan. You agree?"

"I do."

"It is to my attention that there is a very powerful warrior in your employ."

"I employ many a powerful warrior. It is key to becoming a mighty force that has weight to throw around. They are the legs that this entire operation stand on."

"Have any of these legs ever turned traitor to Bailan?"

"The very few that have were quickly taken care of. I do not tolerate any of my Dogs of War biting their Master's hand."

Tetsuo smiled, and stroked his short, jet-black, immaculately groomed beard slowly. He would have to step carefully at this point. The leader of Bailan did not have time to entertain bush-beating, and a point must be made, and soon.

It is also to my attention that one of your dogs is particularly strong...unstoppable, some say. She has certainly never fallen in battle as of yet."

"No warrior would be of much use if they fell in battle."

"The one I speak of is much more exceptional than the other high-class warriors you employ." Tetsuo said. "And I would like to ask you...what if the strongest warrior you had, turned on you and came to wreck everything you ever built?"

"Surely that warrior could be killed. No one is invincible."

"You know the warrior I speak of, I presume." Tetsuo said.

"Jo."

"Yes. She is a fine Dog of War, yet she remains uncollared. If she were to get it into her head that she does not like blindly following your orders, what would you do?"

"Eliminate her."

"Correct. But that would be a terrible waste of a dog, wouldn't it? Can you not collar her, restrain her, show her that it is, perhaps, in her best interest to have Bailan's interests always in her heart?"

"And how do you suggest that?"

"Jo's battlefield partner, Meg. They seem quite close. From observations, Meg is Jo's leash. Jo will do anything that Meg asks her to. I too have nothing but Bailan's interests at heart. I thought it prudent to discuss possible measures for ensuring a strong warrior does not turn and ruin so much work that has been done here. If you take the girl Meg, Jo will have one of two possible reactions. She will attack blindly, and kill everything in her sight, without fail, until sheer numbers are amassed to bring her down. Or, she will reason with you for Meg's safe release, then be on her way."

The aging Bailan leader smiled slowly, and he regarded Tetsuo with an amused look.

"Well, Tetsuo..."

"Yes?"

"There is a reason I sit in this chair, and not someone like yourself." The Bailan leader said, shaking his head. "While you are correct in assuming that we need some sort of defence from the girl, your logic is flawed. If we do, as you say, capture the girl, Jo will react as you say, slaughtering everything and not stopping until she is either dead, or Meg is freed."

"The-"

The Bailan leader held up a hand, not liking to be interrupted. When he paused, it was to let others think about what he had said. Too many people spoke first, and thought later. This was exactly why what he was going to say next would put the young man in his place.

"And, as you say, if Jo sees that she has the chance to rescue Meg diplomatically, and without violence, she will indeed take it. For the survival of Meg is first and foremost in Jo's mind, always. However, once Meg is away and safe somewhere where we cannot reach her, Jo will come back. Jo's pride will not let her walk away from something like that for long. She will come back, and she will be furious. We will all pay with our lives for taking Meg from her, and that is not a desirable situation."

Tetsuo licked his lips nervously. "Th-then how do you control the girl? Are you merely wishing and hoping that she finds no interest in bringing down everything we have built here? It certainly is a long shot, but one must be prepared for all eventualities."

The Bailan leader nodded slowly. "If the unfortunate day comes where Jo, or any of the others decides that they do not need us anymore, and they feel it would be a good idea to mount an attack, then that is something we cannot accept. We will have to hit them hard, and hit them where it counts. We will need to disable their greatest weapon, Jo."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"By utterly destroying that weapons entire reason for operating."

"Y-you mean..."

"If Jo ever bares her teeth at us, we will kill Meg."

"But thats..."

"An extreme measure, yes, and one that is highly unlikely to ever happen. However, they are mercenaries by nature, and will do anything if offered enough money. The only reason they are so loyal now is my granddaughter, Sei, is the one who hired Jo, and they have become friends, somewhat. Also, we just happen to be paying top dollar for her skills, so she feels no need to go anywhere else. Regardless, thank you for bringing such a thing to my attention. She is a dangerous warrior, but Bailan can handle its own. You are dismissed."

Tetsuo nodded, and stood. He bowed low, and exited the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Meg was already curled up in Jo's bed, yawning, when Jo entered. Meg had opted to not go watch the movie; instead she had gone and talked to Sei, inquiring as to why they were currently jobless. Sei simply shrugged, and said there were no jobs coming down the pipe, and that the only downside to working for Bailan was that it was nearly impossible to find work on the side. Bailan was involved in some very intricate political webs, and making one false step with a side job for another company could instantly make them Bailan's enemy. Sei had then asked if Meg was broke, and if she needed money then she would be happy to lend some. Meg had told her that money wasn't the issue. She still had plenty for how often she had bought things completely on impulse, and wasn't in a rush to make more.

"I'm just all mixed up." She had said. "Part of me is bored and wants work regardless of the pay, and the other part of me is glad that Jo has time to rest and wants this to last forever."

Sei had given her sympathies, and said she understood. However, all they could do for now was take it one day at a time.

"Already in bed, Meg?" Jo asked. The lights were already out, and the room was dark. Meg nodded. "I'm tired." She replied. Jo said nothing, as she pulled off her jacket. It once more fell to the floor, as Jo made her way over to the bed. Meg slowly moved over to make room for her, as Jo slid into bed. Meg pulled the covers up over the both of them, and turned on her side to face Jo.

"Jo, I-" Meg was cut off as Jo reached forward, pulling Meg close. Jo was laying on her right side, and her left arm went around Meg's waist, as her right arm went under Meg's head to support her.

"What were you going to say, Meg?" Jo asked quietly.

Meg shook her head slowly. "Nothing. This is fine."

Jo said nothing, and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, and Jo could feel Meg's gentle touch on the side of her face, fingers running through her hair, fingertips sliding down her cheek.

Jo felt her heartbeat increase as a particular thought crossed her mind. She could control where this night went, and it was up to her if it went anywhere fun.

Slowly, Jo began sliding her fingertips around in small circles on Meg's sweater covered lower back. After a few minutes, Jo slipped her hand underneath Meg's sweater, to her bare skin. Her hand travelled slowly up and down Meg's back, and over her hip. Meg practically purred in pleasure as she pushed herself up against Jo. Jo continued rubbing Meg's back, and had to admit that she liked the feeling of Meg's smooth skin beneath her fingers. Meg slipped her hand around the back of Jo's neck, entangling her fingers in her hair. She pulled Jo closer, and pulled on her hair, tilting Jo's head back as Meg's lips found her throat.

Jo had never felt anything like this before, and it was an interesting contrast to the feeling of war. Meg's lips on her throat generated so many feelings that she had never felt before. Jo had rarely ever been sexually aroused, and never to a point like this. Meg slid her tongue around Jo's throat and up the side of her neck, gently nipping her earlobe. Jo felt a shiver slide down her spine, and a small moan escaped her lips. Meg smirked.

"You like that, eh Jo?" Meg whispered in her ear. Jo didn't answer, but opened her eyes. Meg slowly sat up in bed, then flipped over so she was straddling Jo's waist. She leaned down, and attacked her neck again, as Jo's hands found their way back to Meg's waist.

"Mmmm Jo..."

Jo felt her body react to the way Meg moaned her name, and her hands slowly slid down until they were cupping Meg's perfect, soft, tantalizing ass. Meg hummed softly, and pressed her hips against Jo. She straightened up and smirked down at Jo.

"I know you want to touch more than that, Jo." She whispered teasingly, slowly twisting her torso from side to side. Jo's eyes fell to Meg's breasts, and saw them barely contained by the half-zipped sweater. Jo blinked nervously, as Meg leaned back, tilting her head back and closing her eyes. Meg's hands slowly slid from the side of the bed, to her thighs. Her fingertips traced a teasing path up her thighs, to her stomach. Meg could tell Jo was following her with her eyes, and slowly her hands went higher until she slowly caressed her breasts, pressing them together. Meg massaged them slowly for a few seconds, then slid her hands up her neck, and through her long red hair. She let herself moan a bit as she slowly let her hands fall to her sides, before lowering her head, and opening her eyes. She gazed at Jo, and slowly reached out, touching the tip of Jo's nose with her fingertip.

"Your turn." She said.

Jo's eyes widened. That was easily the hottest thing she had ever seen Meg do, and she had done it for her.

"I'm all yours Jo...have your way with me." Meg whispered. She leaned down and licked Jo's throat again. "Or use me to fulfill your every desire."

Jo felt her body heat up with raw desire, and she reached up to stroke Meg's back again. This time she dug her nails into Meg's soft skin. Meg arched her back and moaned.

"Mmm yes...I love it rough..." Meg moaned. "More, Jo..."

Jo twisted to the side, and threw Meg off her, before climbing on top. Meg smiled seductively up at her, her hair strewn all over the sheets.

"You own me Jo...play with me as rough as you want." Meg said softly. "Or would you prefer that I beg for it...?"

Jo couldn't ignore the overwhelming desire she held for this girl stretched out beneath her. And here she was, offering herself to Jo in every way Jo had never imagined.

"M-Meg..."

"Mmnyes, Jo?" Meg asked, biting her lip. Her fingers tugged at the waistband of Jo's yoga pants. Jo leaned down, and whispered in Meg's ear.

Meg smiled, and giggled softly. "Of course, Jo. Anything for you."

Sei picked up her cell phone, and excused herself from the table. It vibrated again, insistently, in her hand, and she hurriedly walked down the hall toward her room. Once she was a good distance away from Leo and Amy sitting at the table, she flipped open her cell phone and brought it to her ear.

"Grandfather."

"Sei, how are you?"

"Getting destitute, Grandfather. We have no work. You have good news, I presume?"

"The opposite, unfortunately. We are in the middle of a political stalemate, and our work must reflect that. You are ordered to not engage anyone except in self-defence, in the name of Bailan."

"For how long! The girls are getting more and more restless, day by day. I do not know if I can control Jo, if we tell her she cannot fight for however many more days."

There was a lengthy pause, and Sei had the feeling that she may have said something wrong.

"A week. Stay clean for a week, and I can arrange something for you, if you and your girls are restless and looking for action."

Sei nodded, and audibly confirmed her understanding. "Okay. I will do that, Grandfather."

"I will wire-transfer some funds to the usual account, do as you please with it. Distribute it amongst the girls, and send them off to do some shopping. It should entertain them for a while."

"Thank you Grandfather."

"Sei."

"Yes, Grandfather?"

Another lengthy pause. "I am sorry. I do love you, and you are doing a great job."

The line went dead in Sei's ear, and her heart started racing faster than it ever had before. Everything about that conversation had been irregular, especially the ending. Something was going on, and she wanted to know what it was. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart, and compose herself before she rejoined Leo and Amy.

"What was that about, Sei?" Leo asked when Sei had reseated herself. Sei shook her head.

"Nothing in particular, Bailan checking up on us."

"How's work looking?"

"None for a week." Sei said quietly.

Leo was quiet, and slowly stroked his chin. Amy glanced at her over the top of her laptop, then a few seconds later, the sound of rapid keystrokes filled the air.

"Don't bother looking for more work, Amy." Sei said. "We were told not to act on our own, so as to not aggravate the delicate position Bailan is in, politically."

The keystrokes stopped momentarily, then resumed at a slightly slower pace.

"Well that's stupid." Amy remarked. "Is Bailan compensating us for our downtime at their hands?"

Sei nodded. "Once the funds are in my account, I'll redirect them to each of your personal accounts. I'll notify you when I complete the transfer."

Amy sighed. "Better than nothing, I suppose. I'll just go trash someone's site for fun. Or find a personal server to break into."

Sei raised an eyebrow. "And the destruction of others' personal data is entertaining to you?"

Amy frowned for a minute. "Well considering there is no one out there smart enough or skillful enough to stop me, it IS a bit like using Thor's mighty hammer to smite innocent villagers, and other vermin. So that DOES make me a cruel and petty person."

Sei waited.

Amy's inevitable grin broke across her face, and she giggled. "Time to smite some poor fools!"

Sei sighed, and crossed her arms under her voluptuous breasts. "Just don't get us in any trouble, or I'm withholding your part of the pay."

Amy waved her off. "Ahh. Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

Sei stared at her for a second, before turning to Leo. "You haven't seen the girls at all, have you?"

Leo shrugged, recalling the last time he had seen Jo. "Can't say that I have. Probably holed up in one of their rooms though, their stuff is still here."

Amy snickered, and Sei turned to her. "Something to add to the conversation?"

Amy shook her head. "Not a thing!"

"Do you need to speak to them?" Leo asked, ignoring Amy.

Sei turned to face him once more. "I should let them know whats going on for the next week. Jo, without work, might go crazy, but hopefully Meg can keep a tight hold on her temper. You know how Jo can get when her need for violence and fighting isn't satiated."

"Maybe Meg can take Jo's mind off the violence by satisfying something else." Amy said, shaking her head.

"Amy!" Sei exclaimed.

"What? Don't tell me you didn't hear those two last night!"

Sei froze. "Hear? What exactly did you hear...?"

Leo cleared his throat, and got up from the table. "Coffee, anyone? Think I'll excuse myself and go get coffee!" He left hastily, lest he hear anything Jo could prosecute him for.

"Oh, you know...this and that..." Amy said slyly.

"Amy, don't kid around! You know as well as I do that something was bound to happen eventually, but I need to know how the team dynamics have changed. Once...a relationship of a sexual nature develops, things change. And if their relationship fails, things could change for the worse."

"Well, you know sweet and innocent Meg? She was practically begging Jo it give it to her hard, rough and fast."

Sei's eyes narrowed. "I didn't hear anything and I was up all night doing paperwork. How exactly did you come across this...information?"

Amy shifted her eyes away from her computer screen. "There may have been an electronic component to my voyeurism..."

"You spied on Jo and Meg!"

Amy grinned. "Sooo...how much was that information worth to you, Sei?" Amy asked. "How much do you value your team dynamics?"

Sei smiled coldly at her. "How much is it worth to you that I don't tell Jo on you?" Sei asked, her voice sickeningly sweet. Amy's grin disappeared. "Because I'll tell you one thing, Amy, my team dynamics don't change much if Jo takes you out."

Amy slowly shrunk back behind her laptop screen. "I may have...uh...miscalculated...a bit..."

Sei reached over and patted her on the head. "It was a nice try, sweetie, but you have years to go before you can even think of pulling one over on me. Give me credit, I'm not Meg. You can't kid a kidder."

Amy shrugged. "A for effort?" She asked. Sei hummed. "B plus." She conceded. "Good enough for the girls I know." Amy replied. Sei raised an eyebrow. "Thats an interesting phrase."

Amy rolled her eyes. "The things kids learn on the internet these days, my word, I tell you what."

Sei smiled fondly at the young girl, and got up from her seat. "Well, I'm about to go wake Beauty and the Beast, hopefully I'm not about to intrude on anything,"

"I don't think Meg would appreciate it if you referred to her as the Beast." Amy said.

"Well, luckily for me, I don't particularly care."

Amy laughed, and Sei disappeared down the hall, heading toward Meg's room.

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. One more to go! It's so exciting! As always, reviews are definitely appreciated. Let me know what you think! Feel free to point out errors, spelling mistakes, breaks in continuity, and inconsistencies. It's the only way I'll get better.


	4. Part I: Never Without You

Love You To Death, Chapter 4

Part I: Never Without You.

Sei stopped in front of Meg`s door, although she didn`t expect the young girl to be in here. She knocked on the door, and waited. There was no answer from within, and after a moment, Sei moved on. Ten paces took her down the hall to Jo`s room, and it was here that she expected to find the girls. Another knock. There was absolute silence for a moment, which puzzled Sei, then the soft, muted sounds of rustling clothes and sheets.

"Yes?" Came Jo's soft voice from within. Sei did not open the door. "News from Bailan. I will discuss it with you when you join us in the kitchen."

Another stretch of silence. If Sei concentrated, she was sure she could hear whispered talking; she did not try to make out what they were saying. "Okay. Be out soon."

Sei turned, and headed back toward Amy and Leo.

_Fifteen minutes earlier..._

Meg awoke slowly, her mind in no hurry to rejoin reality. Each of her senses slowly came online, one after another. She became aware of the scent of vanilla; even before she opened her eyes, she knew what it was. She felt a gentle warmth pressing against her back, and an arm around her waist. She could hear Jo's slow inhale and exhale of breath; about six seconds in between each. Jo was still asleep.

Meg became aware of their position, and a slow smile crept across her face. Meg was on her right side, facing the wall. Jo was behind her, cuddled up against her. Jo had her left arm slung over Meg's waist, holding her close, while her right arm was underneath Meg's head. Jo's face head was bowed, her nose nestled in Meg's hair.

Meg inhaled deeply, and the scent of Jo, mixed with vanilla made her heart swell with pride. Jo was with her. No one else. The strong, beautiful warrior was holding her right now, had only ever held her, and would only ever hold her if Meg had anything to say about it.

_I'm surprised she still has it... _Meg thought to herself. It was an old gift...

_When they had moved from America to Japan, they had spent the first year looking for work. They had found it on and off, and weren't doing too badly for themselves. Jo had, of course, adapted easily to the culture; whether it was her avoidance of people or her innate uncaring of anything to do with tradition and the general way of life, Jo had shown no signs of stress switching from American to Japanese culture. Sure, she had probably offended a lot of people, blatantly disregarded tradition and customs regarding nearly everything, but in typical Jo fashion it hadn't been done out of arrogance or disrespect; she simply did not know any better. Meg, on the other hand, had gone into Japan knowing things were going to be vastly different, and every day was a challenge as she struggled to learn the language and interact with people. Over the years to come, Jo slowly learned, and she learned from Meg. Meg took the time to tell her why the things she was doing weren't accepted here like they were in America, and to help her adapt. Jo learned the language from Meg, and although Meg never had time to sit down and formally teach Jo, she would merely talk to Jo in Japanese, repeating sentences over and over, then saying it again in English. Jo caught on through word association, and it was good enough to get by. _

_When Christmas rolled around, things weren't looking too bright. They had a place to live, yet barely enough food to eat, and work was scarce. Their clothes were thin, and their wallets thinner, but Meg was happy. She had Jo, and it was Christmas time. She didn't have a care for anything else in the world. It was a week before Christmas, and Meg was walking through the mall. Jo had opted to stay at home, but Meg wanted to go out and enjoy the snowfall. She had thrown on whatever clothes she could find, and set out, walking aimlessly through the falling snow. It was beautiful. If only Jo had come with her, walking with her hand in hand..._

_After an hour and a half, Meg had gotten cold. The sun had just been setting when she had left, and now it was dark out, the snow falling faster with big, fat snowflakes. She had wandered her way to the town center, and decided to stop in at the mall. She had a few yen on her; might as well see if she could get something to warm her up. She walked over and pulled open one of the big glass doors; a wave of heated air blasting her from the heaters above. She smiled, and shook off the snow clinging to her hair, shoulders, pants and boots. She had been in this mall more than a few times over the previous months and knew her way around pretty well. She immediately began walking in the direction of the coffee shop. _

_'Ahh, I wish Jo was here with me...' Meg thought sadly. 'It's so Christmas-ey, and she's cooped up inside!' _

_Meg reached into her pocket and jangled the meagre coin, wondering what to get. As she approached the coffee shop, her eye was caught by the store beside it. It looked interesting, and she decided to go check it out. She wandered in, and was greeted by the person operating the til. Meg smiled at her, and slowly walked down the aisles, looking left and right. It seemed to be a store aimed at personal health and beauty, and most of the products Meg either knew of, or had used before. One shelfing section caught her eye though, and she moved closer. The shelf was lined with body moisturizer, in varying scents. One container in particular caught her eye, and she picked it up, reading it. _

_'Hmm, Body Butter, eh?' Meg flipped it over, and looked at the bottom of the round container, but it revealed little useful information. She flipped it back right side up, and looked at the scent. She wrinkled her nose when she saw 'cucumber' on it, and put it back. _

_'What else do they have?' She wondered. Her eyes caught a vanilla scented container, and she smiled. She loved vanilla. She picked it up, and wondered what the price was. If she could get it, this would make a good gift for Jo! She slowly made her way back to the counter, and held it up questioningly. The woman smiled, and took it from her, running it through the till. 387 Y flashed up on the screen, and Meg frowned._

_"I only have 350 yen." Meg said. The elderly woman nodded, and held out her hand. Confused, Meg shook her head. "I don't have enough." She said._

_"Christmas...is...time of give." The woman said slowly, in English, then repeated it in Japanese. Meg nodded slowly, and gave her to money, thanking her profusely. The kind lady smiled, her brown eyes shining brightly. Meg didn't know what to do, so she bowed awkwardly, then left. As she left the store, she glanced over her shoulder one more time, and the woman waved at her. Meg waved back, and a smile crossed her face. She walked with a slightly lighter step, and wanted to hurry getting home. She had a gift for Jo, and it wasn't anything expensive, but she hoped Jo liked it. She had never had enough money to give Jo a present before, and more than a few times, Christmas had passed without either of them noticing. Sure, it was impossible to miss the festive music, and the decorations, but neither of them paid much attention to the date on the calendar. _

_When Meg got home, she ran upstairs to their shared room, and peeked inside. Jo was on the bed, leaning against the backboard and staring at her feet. It was the same position Jo had been in when Meg had left, and Meg recognized it for what it was. Jo was trying to remember anything about her past, before Meg had found her._

_Meg`s heart always went out to the girl when she saw her like this. She wished she could help, but in reality, there was little she could do. But maybe a gift would cheer her up...?_

_Meg had originally been wanting to wait another week til Christmas day to give her the present, but anyone who knew Meg knew that she wouldn't be able to hold out that long._

_"Hey, Jo..." Meg said softly, approaching the girl. Jo was silent and unresponsive for a minute, before she looked up at Meg. Meg felt her heart skip a beat when she looked into those dark red liquid pools, but didn't miss the way Jo's pupils dilated slightly when she looked at her. Meg slowly walked over to the edge of the bed, her hands behind her back._

_"While I was out, I...uh...I thought of you." Meg said softly. "And I got you something. You know, as a gift."_

_There was no noticeable response from Jo, and Meg felt her courage faltering. Now that her confidence was weakening, she started doubting herself._

_"I-it's...nothing big or expensive, but I thought of you when I saw it." Meg said, bringing the item out from behind her back and holding it out to her._

_Jo's eyes slowly lowered to the offered item, and she reached out to accept it. Meg's hands were shaking when Jo took it, and Meg was sure that Jo had noticed. Jo said nothing, but she looked at the round container in her hands with little more than slight interest._

_"What is it?" Jo asked, turning it over in her hands. Meg sat down on the bed beside her. _

_"It's a body moisturizer!" She said. "And it's my favourite scent, vanilla!" _

_Jo looked at it for a second longer, before setting it beside her. "Thank you, Meg." She said._

_Meg smiled at her, although her heart fell. _

_'No discernable reaction...' Meg thought sadly, getting up. Jo looked up at her, but Meg walked out of the room with her head down. _

_'I was stupid to think she would care about something like that...'_

Meg smiled to herself as she slowly turned over to face Jo, hoping she didn't wake the sleeping girl. Jo didn't awake, and Meg stared at the sleeping girl's face, envious of her dark skin tone.

It was a week after she had given her that gift, Meg thought, on Christmas day when Jo first used it.

_Meg hadn't talked to Jo much, embarrassment over somehow feeling rejected by Jo, and had kept to herself. Jo wasn't one for talking, nor for understanding delicate feelings, but had obviously known through Meg's behaviour that something was wrong. Jo had come up behind Meg, and gently slipped her arms around the shorter girl's neck, pulling her close. Meg closed her eyes, and relaxed into Jo's embrace. After a moment, Meg realized what the familiar scent she had caught was, and had turned around excitedly. Jo only pulled her into a tighter hug, and Meg rested her head on Jo's shoulder, her face in the crook of Jo's neck. There she could smell it the strongest, and she inhaled deeply, wishing she could stay in Jo's arms forever, and never leave. _

Meg leaned forward and kissed Jo lightly on the forehead.

_'Jo is so cute when she`s asleep!_' Meg thought. _'But then again, Jo is always cute.'_

Meg gently brushed a length of hair from Jo's cheek, and leaned forward to kiss her again. As her lips touched Jo's cheek, Jo moaned softly. Meg quickly pulled away, looking down at Jo.

Jo slowly opened her eyes, and focused on Meg.

"Sorry Jo, did I wake you?" Meg asked quietly.

Jo shook her head. "No, its fine."

Meg was about to reply, when a knock on the door interrupted her. Jo cast a dark glare at the door, then sat up, pulling the blankets across her legs to her waist.

"Yes?" Jo asked quietly.

"News from Bailan. I will discuss it with you when you join us in the kitchen." Sei's voice reached their ears, muffled slightly by the door.

Meg leaned in close. "I wonder what that means?" She whispered. Jo shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever it is, it probably isn't good." She replied quietly.

"Okay, be out soon." Jo said, her voice a bit louder. There was no reply, and they assumed that Sei had left.

"Well, we should get out there and see what`s going on." Jo said. Meg nodded, and they slowly got out of bed. As soon as Meg stood, she arched her back into a luxurious stretch, arms high in the air.

"Mmm I like sleeping with you, Jo." Meg said. "We haven't shared a bed in a while." Jo said nothing; she was busy undressing. Meg didn't bother; she knew there was nothing going on today. Might as well relax in her casual wear.

Within a few minutes, Jo was back in uniform, complete with gun holsters and loaded guns.

"Hoping for some action, eh Jo?" Meg asked, grinning. Jo nodded. "A fight would be nice." She replied.

Meg placed her hand on the door knob, and turned it. "Something tells me you shouldn't get your hopes up."

Jo lowered her nose into her scarf, and walked toward the door as Meg pulled it open.

"One can hope." Jo said, as she stepped into the hallway. Meg stepped out after her, shutting Jo's door tight behind her.

Meg followed slightly behind Jo as they walked down the hall, and it was only a few short seconds before they entered the trailer's kitchen, and unofficial meeting area.

"Morning, you two." Sei greeted. Meg replied in kind, while Jo's eyes travelled to and from each of their members.

Amy was sitting back on one side of the table, drinking a glass of milk and casting a critical eye at her computer, no doubt testing an auto-hack program she had written, or watching the status of a critical download. Leo was on the opposite side, sitting beside Sei. His clothes were clean, which told Jo that the majority of Django's work was completed. Work on that thing was never finished though, even if Jo let it sit for a year, she would come back and find Leo tinkering with _something_. Sei was, as always, beautifully dressed, hair done up to perfection. Her light, classy perfume was not heavily applied, and only the barest of whiffs every now and then reached their noses. Always enough to intrigue, but never too much to be over-powering. Her eyes shone brightly in the artificial glare of the kitchen lighting as she surveyed Meg and Jo.

"Have a seat, you two." She said, indicating the space across from her, next to Amy. Amy obligingly moved over to make room. Jo motioned for Meg to sit first, and she did. Jo slid in after her, hand disappearing under the table. A second later, and Jo's hand found Meg's. Meg was surprised, but glad that Jo had initiated contact for once, and slowly intertwined her fingers with Jo's, and held tight.

"Bailan contacted me this morning," Sei started. "And it seems that Bailan has been very active recently in the political spectrum."

Jo's eyes narrowed; she already knew where this was going. Her grip on Meg's hand tightened.

"They have ordered us to not make any moves for a period of one week." Sei said. Although she was reiterating herself for the benefit of both Meg and Jo, it was only Jo who she directed those words at.

Jo's mind began racing at the thought of being inactive for a week. She was already craving war, and seven days without it seemed...

"Bailan has agreed that if we play nice for them for a week, they will arrange something for us at the end of the week for those of us who feel the need to stretch our muscles."

Once again directed at Jo.

"Ooor..."

Jo's head came up at the thought of an alternative.

"We can go straight to work for any one of the thousand factions resisting Bailan and their obvious supremacy, and consider Bailan an enemy. The pay will be significantly less, also."

Jo didn't particularly care who she worked for, but knew that Sei would not betray Bailan. Meg would follow her, of course, but Jo wouldn't have Django. Or if she did, they wouldn't have Bailan's massive financial backing to pay for the repairs every time Jo broke something. And with Bailan as their enemy...Django would be broken often.

Sei, seeing Jo carefully consider the offer, and the subsequent decision not to accept the offer based on her continued silence, moved on.

"Obviously we do not want to separate ourselves from Bailan for many reasons, each different for all of us but equally as important. Let's keep a low profile, recuperate, enjoy our time off. If I know Bailan, things won't be quiet for long. They thrive on conflict, and before we know it, our week will be up and we will be thrust into eternal war once more."

Jo knew all too well that the carefully prepared speech was for her alone. Each of them were tied to Bailan in some way. All of them, except her. And maybe Meg...

Jo's eyes sought Leo's. Leo was a skilled heavy duty mechanic, and could take his trade anywhere he desired. He remained ever-faithful to Sei, though Jo did not know if barking up that particular tree would ever yield the results he desired. Her eyes slid to Amy. Her skills, as well, were versatile, and could be employed anywhere, at any time, for anyone who paid the right price. Amy's age was invaluable to her. She would never fall behind the technological advances. She was merely tied to Bailan through, again, Sei. She considered Sei a mother-figure, and would follow her to the ends of the earth.

Jo closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, they were focused on Sei, across from her. Sei was returning the stare, and Jo did not flinch away. Sei, the one person this group revolved around, was tied to Bailan in such an obvious and explicit way that it was clear she would never leave.

Sei offered her a small smile, and Jo nodded her head, nose hiding deeper into the high folds of her scarf. From the corner of her eye, she could see Meg. Meg had been with her ever since she could remember. Probably always would, and that was a damn comfortable feeling. Meg liked Sei and the others, Jo knew, but Jo also knew that she intentionally kept herself from them. Jo had never formed an attachment to anyone but Meg, and Jo would have no problem leaving this oddball group of humans if the time came. To avoid getting hurt, Meg didn't allow herself to get too attached to anyone that Jo could leave. For Jo, that was everyone but Meg.

Jo closed her eyes once more. It would be in her best interest to remain here. War would come again. She could feel it. Bailan always provided engaging and challenging battles; she would never give that up no matter how long she needed to wait. Yes, war was coming. The excitement was building in Jo's chest, but she had to contain it. For now.

Jo opened her eyes, and stood. Still holding Jo's hand, Meg stood with her. Jo could feel everyone's eyes on their clasped hands, but she felt no embarrassment. They had held each other tighter than this before in more ways than one, when the cold got too hard to bear and the hunger kicked in. Other times they held each other for the peace it brought them. Other times, Jo held Meg when she was overcome by grief; Jo was thankfully spared that feeling.

Sometimes, Jo got the feeling that Meg would one day walk away. Reason unknown, just up and leave. Those were the nights Jo spent hugging Meg the tightest, unable to speak a word as she locked herself inside her mind, combatting silly fears and unreasonable doubts. Meg had never left yet though, and Jo was glad for every day she had woken up to Meg's sleepy face, and unruly hair.

Jo walked down the hallway hand in hand with Meg, head bowed, deep in thought.

"Y-you alright, Jo?" Meg asked timidly. Jo did not answer right away. When they reached Meg's room, Jo stopped and let go of her hand.

"Do you want to go out somewhere, Meg?" Jo asked.

Meg wasn't sure what to say. "That's...unusual. Normally I have to pester you to come out with me."

Jo shrugged. "There is nothing else to do, and I know that going out entertains you. I cannot allow you to go by yourself, unprotected. I shall accompany you."

Meg smiled, and reached out, hugging Jo's arm. "Aw, is it like a date?" She asked. "Where you taking me, Jo?"

Jo's neutral expression promptly turned to a frown. "I...guess this could technically be called a date...I'm familiar with the meaning of the word...although I have very little knowledge concerning the protocol to follow on a 'date'."

Meg only hugged her closer, her smile widening into a grin. "Just go out for a walk with me, take me somewhere to eat, then we can watch a movie or something!"

Jo's eyes narrowed as she looked at Meg. "You have done these things with people other than me multiple times before."

Meg looked up at her, surprised at the display of emotion. "Aww, are you jealous, Jo?"

Jo gently pressed Meg against her bedroom door, hands around her waist.

"I do not know what I am feeling, but I do not like it."

"Jo, don't worry. All those things mean something else when I do them with other people. With you, it's...special."

Jo was silent for a minute, then she looked at Meg with such wide, sad eyes that Meg's heart almost broke.

"Promise?" Jo asked quietly. Meg nodded. "I promise." She said softly.

Jo smiled, and pulled her into a hug.

"Want to go now?" Jo asked. Meg nodded. "I want to shower and change first though." Jo nodded her agreement. Meg began walking toward Jo's room, and Jo followed.

"My shower, again?" Jo asked. Meg stopped with her hand on Jo's door handle. "Do you mind?" She asked. "I can use mine if you like."

Jo shook her head. "It is alright with me."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Good!" Meg said, opening the door and walking in. "I like showering with you anyway!"

Jo wondered if she should ask why, but quickly decided on a separate subject.

"Meg...I have a question."

"Yeah, Jo?"

"When we are done showering...can you help me find something nice to wear?"

Meg looked at Jo, surprise evident on her face. "What do you mean?"

Jo looked down at her fighting outfit. "I feel like a change." She said. "You wear a variety of clothing that accent many different desireable parts of you, and I fear I lack that trait."

Meg was silent for a moment as she slowly slid her sweat pants off.

"Well...you don't really own much in the way of clothing...so...SHOPPING TRIP!" Meg exclaimed.

Jo smiled, and started to remove her clothing. Her holsters came off; laid gently on the floor. Next, her scarf. Carefully unwound, and dropped on top of her guns. The rest of her clothing came off carelessly and was strewn about the floor with no particular thought given to where it ended up.

Meg slowly unzipped her hoodie, feeling her breasts move slightly apart. Next, her bra. She reached behind herself, her fingers expertly finding the clasp. She undid it in one swift move, before turning to face Jo completely.

"Oh, Jo..." Meg said softly. Jo was already looking at her. "Yes, Meg?" She asked.

Meg let the bra fall, revealing her soft, supple breasts. "Come here." Meg said softly. Jo stepped closer, her bare feet silent across the carpet. Meg slowly backed away as Jo moved closer. Meg smiled. "I need you to do something for me, Jo." Meg whispered, letting her fingertips slide slowly up her navel. Jo's eyes slid slowly down Meg's body, until they landed on Meg's tantalizing hips.

"And that is?"

Meg took two more slow steps backward, and she stepped onto the cold tile of the bathroom floor. She hesitated in the doorway for a moment. Slowly, she leaned against the door frame, her hips curving out.

Jo moved closer, staring down at her. Meg reached out, and took Jo's hands in hers, guiding them to her hips. "Take these off?" Meg asked innocently, looking up at Jo.

Jo, her hands on Meg's hips, could feel the fabric of her panties.

Jo stared into Meg's eyes for a second, before slowly hooking her thumbs under the waistband of her underwear. Meg smiled in approval, as Jo slowly pushed them down.

As Jo reached down as far as she could, she realized Meg's naughty intent. There was no way Jo could remove Meg's panties without bending down...

Jo slowly moved down, her face passing within inches of Meg's chest. Here, Jo paused for a second. Inhaling through her nose, Jo could smell the delicious, unique scent that was only Meg. Jo leaned in, and pressed her lips against Meg's left breast, just shy of her pink nipple. Meg reached up and stroked Jo's head as she continued to move down, threading her fingers through Jo's hair. Jo left a trail of kisses down Meg's taut stomach, pulling her panties down inch by tantalizing inch. Meg felt tremors running down her spine as Jo's lips moved lower and lower, ever so slowly.

As Jo bent down on one knee, the panties hit the floor. Jo knew she was done, but Meg's hand was still entangled in her hair. Jo closed her eyes, and kissed Meg's navel, slowly moving down, her hot, wet tongue pressed against Meg's skin.

An audible moan escaped Meg's throat, and her fingers tightened in Jo's hair.

_'Mmm...just a bit lower, Jo...'_

Almost immediately, Jo stopped. Meg felt her begin to stand, and she opened her eyes to come face to face with a smirking Jo.

"Shower time, isn't it?" She asked, before slipping past Meg. She reached into the shower, and turned it on. Meg stared at Jo's behind, trying furiously to control her desire. This was going to be a long week...

Sei sat down the table and handed a cup of steaming offee to Leo. He thanked her, before reaching for a box of sugar cubes.

"It's been quiet lately, eh?" He asked, dropping a few cubes into his coffee. He picked up a spoon and stirred it slowly. Sei nodded. "I'm not sure what Bailan has planned, but I have a feeling they aren't telling because they know I won't like it."

"You have a certain position of authority, can't you...find a way to be let in on the plan?" Leo asked, taking a sip of his coffee. He nodded in satisfaction as Sei contemplated her answer.

"Well...I can make certain requests, but if it's obvious there is something going on, and they don't bother to tell me what it is, it would be quite disrespectful to try to insinuate myself into their circle of discussion."

Leo nodded slowly. "Makes sense." He said. Sei said nothing; she quietly sipped from her cup of coffee.

"Well," She said after a minute, "There really is nothing to do except wait. How is Django coming along?"

"Mechanically, Django is fine." Leo said. "Everything that was banged up is working now, and fully functional. For some reason, one of the turbos were acting up. I pulled the unit, replaced the seals and it didn't fix the problem. Took the entire unit off again and tested the impellar blades and shaft balance. There were no nicks, or balancing issues, but there was some nominal resistance to the other-wise smooth operation of the unit. The bearing was starting to go, so I replaced it. It was a hefty job, and Bailan will be billed accordingly." He said. "Jo over-revs those engines too much. She asks too much of them. Those bearings are normally sealed units. They are designed to last the lifetime of the turbo itself. Their only weakness is excessive heat. It causes a breakdown of the lubricating oil used in the bearing system. I know removing the rev-limiter helped Jo improve her ability with the machine, but the machine isn't as strong as Jo." Leo said. "I feel silly saying it, but it's true. Since we cannot put a damper on Jo's performance to meet Django's limits and abilities, we need to significantly upgrade Django, or we risk a catastrophic engine failure, perhaps at a critical point in battle, which would be lethal to Jo. That's worst case scenario. Best case is, she blows something, has to fight on limited power and mobility, and if she wins, Django is down for at least a month while it undergoes repairs."

Sei nodded. "You certainly do know Django the best, mechanically." She said. "It would be foolish of me not to heed your advice." Leo picked up his spoon out of nervous habit, and stirred his coffee, clinking the metal spoon against the ceramic cup.

Sei was silent, deep in thought. If something _was_ going on, it would be best to upgrade Django during their downtime. She would have to see what kind of engineering budget was available to...

The noise finally getting to her, Sei gently reached out and stopped Leo's hand.

Leo looked up at her, then hurriedly pulled the spoon out, setting it aside.

"S-sorry, Sei."

She smiled. "It is fine." Leo nodded. "What of Django?" Sei asked.

Leo was quiet for a moment, contemplating. "Tolerances are acceptable measures," He said, thinking. "The most cost-effective, time-efficient, safe thing to do would be to pull all three turbos, and replace them in their entirety." He said. "They all sit in the same engine bay, so if one failed, the others are not far behind. They are also a year and a half old; that particular model is out-dated." He said.

"Do you have the necessary man-power and tools to pull all three by yourself? Or should you hire help? You know the time-frame we are working with, obviously."

Leo nodded, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "One week, yes. I have not decided whether I shall require help or not. The time I would save by having an assistant would invariably be squandered by having to stop and show him around, if he be less experienced than I."

"Well, I leave that call up to you." Sei said. "Anything of importance I should know about?"

"Yes, Jo brought it to my attention that she wants...er..."

"Yes?"

"She wants Django to be airborne. She wants Django to fly."

Sei took another delicate sip of coffee. She stared cooly at the mechanic, while she thought about it.

"Do you have the technical skill to make it happen?" Sei asked. "Can it even happen?"

"Within the timeframe presented to me? Absolutely not." Leo said. "Furthermore, I am no aerospace engineer. If it broke, I could probably fix it, but I cannot make something fly when it wasn't designed to."

Sei was silent again, but only for a second.

"We are in the habit of giving Jo everything she desires when it comes to fighting." Sei said.

Leo hummed thoughtfully. "The absolute best I could do, is redirect her main rear thrusters to a vertical bearing, instead of horizontal. If I encounter no problems, I could probably run an electric motor and wire it to the controls to make it functional as both, like the jet exhaust ports on the old Harrier jet, but thats best case scenario." Leo said. "Although, I would love to see a swivel thruster design on Django."

Sei nodded. "Well, you have your work then. Unlimited charge account, and put in for overtime on every hour you work. Pull the turbos, hire help, whatever you need to do. Second objective is to make Django airborne." Sei said.

Leo nodded, and stood. He drained his coffee in one gulp, and set the mug down on the table.

"I'll keep you updated on my progress." He said. "And I trust you will let me know if anything comes up that shifts this project away from a rebuild, and more toward a 'get that machine operational right now' kind of deal."

Sei nodded. "Of course. What are you planning to do first?"

"Order the turbos and a few miscellaneous parts. If I order it on priority to Bailan's charge account, I should have everything I need within twenty-four to forty-eight hours, and that's all I will need to do most of the teardown." He said.

Sei nodded. "Go for it. Feel free to upgrade the weapons, and anything else, if you prefer. You know the machine, Leo. Do whatever you feel is necessary, and do not worry about cost."

Leo nodded. "Will do, Sei."

Sei turned back to her coffee, and Leo was off to work.

A/N: Well, there is part one of chapter four. Sorry for the long update time, I got into an auto accident, and things are hectic. Luckily, I built my truck like a tank, and although I wrote off the other guys vehicle, my truck has moderate cosmetic damage. His fault, also, so I'm laughing. Aaaaanyway, reviews are appreciated, part II shouldn't be far behind.


	5. Part II: Forever By Your Side

Love You To Death, Chapter Four.

Part II: Forever By Your Side.

Meg smiled happily at Jo, as they walked down the trailer's short hallway. They were about to leave, to go on their first date! Meg was quite happy with what she was wearing; she thought it looked good. She was wearing a pair of black yoga pants, which clung tightly to her, showing off every curve. Then she had put on a white sleeveless shirt, which came down to her belly-button. Over that, went another sleeveless shirt, this one black. It stopped a few inches above the white one, and the contrast was nice. Her red hair was straight down her back; she decided against her cowboy hat today.

Jo was wearing something that Meg owned; Meg had insisted on dressing her up. Jo wore a pair of jean short shorts that hugged her tightly, and a light green shirt that hung off her right shoulder. It fell loosely down her right side, and was snug against her left. Her black bra-strap was visible, but it didn't bother her.

"Jo, you're so pretty!" Meg said, taking her hand. Jo threaded her fingers between Meg's, absent-mindedly.

"That's your opinion." Jo said softly. Meg stopped, turning and stepping in front of Jo.

"You are." She said, reaching up and kissing Jo on the cheek. "Get used to it."

Jo smiled, and they continued walking.

"So we're going shopping instead?" Jo asked.

Meg nodded. "Yeah! And I have a few other ideas, too!" She said.

"Like what?" Jo asked, slightly curious despite herself.

"Mmmm it's a secret!" Meg exclaimed, laughing.

Jo shrugged. "That's fine, I'll find out soon anyway."

Meg grinned widely. "Yeah, you will!" She said. "Now come on, let's get to the mall!"

They left the trailer, Meg bidding goodbye to Amy, and telling her to tell Sei that they had left.

"So," Meg said, "What do you think about this whole week off work thing?"

Jo sighed softly. "I don't know." She said. "I kind of want to fight." She said.

Meg hummed. "Soon." She said. "But for now, you're just gonna have to pretend to enjoy your time with me!"

Jo tilted her head back, and looked to the sun. It was high in the sky, and her pupils dilated as she looked at it.

"You know I love every second with you, Meg."

Meg smiled, and clasped Jo's hand tighter. "You better!"

Soon, their steps brought them to the mall. Meg grinned at the refreshingly cold blast of air from the air conditioning system, a contrast to the hot sun outside.

"Ahh, I'm so excited!" Meg said, tugging on Jo's hand. "Where should we go first?"

Jo gave her a blank look. "You are surely more knowledgeable in this aspect, you cannot defer to me."

Meg laughed. "It was rhetorical, but I guess that answer is suitable enough!"

Jo picked up the pace, matching Meg's excited steps.

"So where are we going, then?"

Meg pointed down the wide corridor, which was filled with wandering people.

"Down at the end here is a store that sells a lot of the clothes I like, I wanna see if you like anything from it."

Jo nodded. "Okay."

Meg threaded her way through the crowd, and Jo followed effortlessly. A few short seconds later, and Jo found herself standing outside of a store called StateSide. Meg walked in, releasing Jo's hand, and Jo followed.

"This place has a huge variety of clothing, and you should be able to find something interesting here." She said. "If not, there's another place we can go to."

Jo nodded, but said nothing. She wasn't really sure what to do, and was waiting on Meg to show her the ropes.

"Come over to this aisle." Meg said, moving over a few rows. "We will start off with jeans."

Jo followed, and Meg immediately began sizing her up, grabbing things off shelves.

"There are two different styles of jeans here, skinny, and regular form-fitting." Meg instructed. "Go take these two to the change room, see how each fits, and come out and show me."

Jo did as she was told, taking the jeans. She followed Meg to the back of the store, and a store attendant opened a change room for her.

Once inside, Jo took off her shorts, then her shoes, and slid into the first pair of jeans. These ones were the regular fitting ones, and didn't feel too bad. They were of a dark navy blue color. She buttoned them up, and pulled up the zipper, before turning to look in the mirror. They weren't bad, she thought.

She turned around and opened the door. Meg was waiting, and eyed her up and down, nodding slowly.

"How do they fit?"

Jo shrugged, but lifted her shirt to show her waist. Meg took a step forward, and reached out. She slipped a finger in the belt loop of the jeans, and gave it a tug.

"Maybe a size smaller." She said, noting the gap.

"Okay, now the other ones."

Jo nodded, and closed the door. She quickly changed out of the jeans, and hung them on a hook on the back of the door.

The next pair were a little more difficult to slip into, and it took a bit of effort. Jo wasn't used to such tight pants, and it took a minute to get into them. When she finally did though, she wasn't sure what to think.

_'Ah, I'll let Meg decide.'_ She thought. She took one last look at them. They were a dark dark blue, with light, faded spots on the thighs and shins, as well as the ass and down the legs. The faded spots had a multitude of rips and wide tears in them, showing off lots of skin.

When Jo open the door, Meg whistled appreciatively. "Now _those_ look good, Jo." She said, nodding. "Okay, we will get those!"

"Do I change back into my other ones?"

"Nah, keep 'em on. I like them!" Meg said. Jo nodded, and picked up the other pair of pants, as well as her shorts.

"Okay, you go wait over by the cashier, I'm going to go grab a size smaller in these jeans." Meg said, taking the other pair from her.

Jo said nothing; she walked over to the cashier with the price tag from her current jeans in her hand.

A minute later, Meg was by her side with another pair of jeans.

"I also grabbed a dark red shirt that I think would look good on you." She said. Jo nodded, and reached for her card.

Meg caught the motion, and stopped her hand. "My gift."

Jo put the price tag down on the counter. "Aren't I supposed to pay for everything, given that I'm taking YOU on the date?" She asked.

The girl operating the til gave them a surprised look, but said nothing as she rang through the clothes.

"W-well...This time we're gonna bend the rules a bit." Meg said. "Don't worry about it!"

Jo hummed. "Fine."

Meg happily paid for the clothes, glad that she was doing something for Jo for once.

"Did you want to look around some more?" Meg asked her. Jo shook her head.

"No, let's go look at those other stores you were talking about."

Meg nodded happily. "After that we have another stop to make!"

"And that is?"

"You'll see!"

"They've been gone for a few hours." Sei said, looking out the window. "Think they ran into any trouble?"

Amy lauighed. "Given that they're two female teenagers gone out shopping? It's expected of them to take a while. And yes, they probably did encounter trouble. Meg's too enticing NOT to hit on, and Jo won't take lightly to any of that. Granted, you would have heard from them by now if it were anything serious."

Sei was quiet for a moment. "That's true." She said. "I don't know why I'm so anxious tonight though." She said. "These streets don't have anything that would be trouble for Jo, and Meg has been out by herself countless times at night."

Amy looked up from her computer. "She has?" She asked, interestedly. "I didn't know that!"

"Well, she hasn't the last night or so, but all last week she used to slip out at night, and not come back until the early morning."

Amy grinned. "Think she was up to no good? Being a deviant?"

Sei shook her head. "Unlikely." She moved over to the counter, and reached up to the cupboards. She pulled down two mugs, and looked at Amy.

"You want any coffee?" Sei asked. Amy looked up at her from her computer screen.  
"Sure. Three milk, three sugar."

Sei got down a third mug, and poured out coffee into all three of them.

"Take this to Leo while I make yours." Sei instructed.

Amy got up, fingers of her left hand finding the control and alt buttons on her keyboard, while her right hand flew across the row of numbers along the top of her keyboard, keying in her six digit password. Immediately, her computer screen went blank, then a picture of a lock appeared on the screen. All this was done before she had even fully stood from her seat.

Sei raised an eyebrow at the curious behaviour as she passed the young girl a cup.

"Can't trust anyone, can you?"

Amy looked at her questioningly. "What?" She asked. She looked over her shoulder, pigtails flopping about her shoulders. "Oh, that. Force of habit so strong, I regularly do it to other people's computers, and for a second, I'm thoroughly confused when nothing happens."

Sei smiled. "Let me know how Leo is doing."

Amy straightened her sweater with one hand, making sure it came down past her shorts, then nodded.

"Okay, will do."

Amy slowly left the kitchen, and Sei returned to looking out the window.

"Hope the kids are alright..."

Amy knocked on the door twice, before pushing it open.

"Leo?" She called. She entered, then immediately squeezed her eyes closed as she was blinded by a bright welding flash.

"Hey Leo! Unprotected eyes here!" She yelled. A second later, and the blue light assaulting her eyes even through her closed lids stopped. She opened them, and bright spots of light swirled in her vision. She blinked a few times, and they slowly started to fade.

"Be right there, Amy." Leo said. He reached over and shut off the welding machine, carefully hanging up his equipment. He got up, and hopped down from the work platform he was on.

"What do you got for me? Coffee?"

"Courtesy of Sei." Amy said, handing it to him. "Wow, it's chilly in this bay! Why's the temperature so low?"

Leo shook his head, then took a sip of coffee. "It's actually not. It's just that theres a lot of metal in here, it's fairly dark, its a lot of open space, and the walls lead directly to the outside. No insulation, and lots of air circulation for exhaust." He said. "Without sun exposure, it tends to get nice and cool in here."

"Working in here in winter must suck."

"On the contrary, there is a gas heater installed for just such occasions."

Amy looked around, then spotted it nestled in the corner. "Oh, okay. I see."

Leo nodded, once again sipping some coffee.

"Sei say anything?"

"Just wants me to tell her how you're doing."

Leo half turned, and looked back at where he was working.

"Well, Django is getting old as far as technology goes, so the only available turbos available for an upgrade require a separate supporting bracket to be custom fabricated. That's what I'm working on now."

Amy looked up at Django, whose engine bay doors were wide open.

"How's the wiring and ECM doing?" She asked curiously.

"I always replace any wiring in the area I'm working in, so that's okay. I have no idea about the engine control module though, Jo has everything set so that anything that can be done manually, she can do."

"Where's the module at? I kinda wanna take a look at what parameters it's running for its' various conditions."

"Behind the pilot seat."

Amy nodded, and looked up at Django. "Mind if I go download a copy?"

"Be my guest." Leo said. "Just don't touch any buttons that you aren't sure of." He said with a laugh. Amy grinned, and headed toward the catwalk stairs, her coffee forgotten. She began climbing the stairs, and when she reached the catwalk, she walked carefully along it until she was a few feet over Django's open cab.

Looking over the edge of the railing, she could see Leo watching her intently from the corner of her eye. If she jumped the railing, it was probably only a four foot drop into the cockpit. If she somehow missed, though, it was a long, far plummet to the ground.

She gathered all the strength in her legs, then jumped up, pulling herself over the rail. She hung in the air for a moment, her bodys' upward momentum ceasing as gravity began to pull her down. She kicked her legs out, and leaned back slightly, as she got the unfamiliar feeling of butterflies in her stomach. She began free-falling, but it was cut short as she landed squarely in the pilots seat, legs splayed, hands roughly near the controls. She giggled, and leaned back in the seat. The seat was well worn, faded but comfortable, even as it hugged her in unfamiliar ways. The seat was worn to Jo's body, not hers. She properly positioned her hands on the controls, and looked at the panel of lights, screens, and dials laid out in front of her from her left side, all the way to her right side. She tilted her head back, and looked at the roof of the trailer. If the cockpit were closed, she would see more dials.

"Can I turn it on?" She yelled, leaning forward slightly to peek over the open edge of the cockpit.

"Yeah, but don't try to crank the engines, I have a lot of parts and tools up there that would be rattled around and possibly sucked in to the block."

Amy nodded, and turned the key. The center console lit up, and the seat slid forward. Amy yelped at the unexpected movement, and cringed as a roll bar came down over top of her.

"You okay, Amy?" Leo asked.

Amy waited until all the movement stopped, then opened her eyes. She wasn't big enough to have the roll cage press her against the seat, and she had some wiggle room.

"I'm fine," She yelled. "But the seat movement surprised me, that's all."

Leo laughed, and Amy ignored him. She looked at the center console, and a blinking blue message on the main screen caught her attention.  
_Close cockpit? Yes No_.

Amy saw boxes around the confirmation and declination, and looked around for a keyboard. She found one to her right, and pressed the tab button, but nothing happened. She pressed enter; nothing still.

Bewildered, she slowly reached out, and touched the blinking _No._ button. It flashed orange, and then the message disappeared. She grinned. This was seriously cool.

She looked around the cockpit some more, then focused back on the touchscreen in front of her. It was a shade of light blue, and completely blank.

"How do I...?" She murmured softly to herself. She reached out and touched it again. A box formed, and filled with options. She quickly scanned them, and picked 'Control Interface'.

Using a finger to quicky scroll through the options, she looked, but did not change. This was Jo's baby, and furthermore, any unexpected changes, no matter how insignificant they seemed, could adversely affect her in battle.

"I wonder what kind of horribly outdated algorithms this thing uses." She said. "I doubt Jo ever connected this thing to the internet to get service upgrades for this version. I wonder what kind of platform it operates on?"

She quickly brought up the Run menu, and typed in SysVer for system version. The information that displayed on the screen made her shake her head.

"Leo, this thing is outdated as hell!"

Leo chuckled. "Not my area of expertise!" He said.

Amy sighed. "Can you call Sei and tell her to bring my laptop to me?"

"It's right here." Sei's sultry voice came from above her, and Amy looked up to see Sei leaning on the railing of the catwalk.

"You're a little small for that seat, don't you think?" Sei asked jokingly, leaning over the rail as far as she could, laptop in her outstretched hand. Amy stood up on the seat, with some difficulty, and reached up. She couldn't quite reach the laptop, but caught it when Sei let it drop from her fingertips.

"I need room to work." Amy said, sitting down and setting the laptop aside for the moment. She leaned forward to the touch screen, and swiftly navigated her way around. She knew the rollbar was set to automatically engage when the key was off, but somewhere in here...

Amy grinned when she found the command to deactivate it, and a second later, it retracted out of her way.

"Perfect!" She got up, and turned around, pulling the seat forward. The computer was nestled into a tray right behind the seat, and Amy pulled a cord out from it. She put the seat back into position, and turned around, sitting back down. She grabbed her laptop, and plugged the ethernet cord into the back of it. She flipped it open, and powered it on. A quick password key-in, and her computer was already scanning Django. While that ran, she turned back to the touch-screen.

"I need to run diagnostics to see what kind of algorithm it's running for its combat parameters." She mumbled to herself. She brought up a diagram of the console layout, and located the plugins. She reached under the console, and ran her fingers along underneath, searching for...

There! Her fingers located a small break in the panelling, and she pressed it. With a click, the panel dropped down and revealed an ethernet cord, and a USB port.

She pulled out the ethernet cord, and plugged it into her laptop, right next to the one for the main computer.

She waited a moment for her laptop to assert itself as the master hard drive, and assign Django as the slave, then opened a command prompt. She quickly looked for the section of coding responsible for the battle-ready algorithm coding, then switched back to the main computer. She opened the Internet, and looked for information concerning Django's system version, to see if anything of interest came up. She also wanted to know what kinds of updates were available. They might contain fixes for the out-dated operating algorithms and save her from having to write them herself.

A few seconds later, her laptop flashed. She maximized the screen, and was surprised at the modest number of updates available for such an old model. Then again, it was kind of obsolete...

She began downloading them, then looked back to see the progress of her algorithm finding. Her search had returned about eighty algorithms dedicated to creating and assigning parameters to the main computer for processing information fed to it by various sensors and control systems. They all had to do with various levels of damage and incapacitatiion, as well as defining when to enter 'Limp home mode', which took absolutely everything that was unnecessary offline, and focused solely on fleeing battle and preserving the unit.

_'There's so much unnecessary code in here...'_ Amy thought. _'I should fix a few of these...'_

She confirmed the download for sixteen GB of updates, ugrades, and patches, then opened up a notepad on her laptop. She would write substitute code on here, then upload it to the main computer. After this, she wanted to see if she could increase mobility performance as far as aquiring targets, recognizing input, and movement were concerned.

She had done some research on the "Django" unit, production code M-LRS430-MM. They had originally been produced as fast-attack, infantry support type units. They were classified as medium to long range shooters, moderate mobility. They had been shipped from factory with a sniper-type rifle equipped, as well as a light duty assault rifle. Hence, the medium to long range classification. Amy was sure she could speed up target aquisition as well as overall processing speeds through some updating, as well as reconfiguring the craft for Jo's close combat fighting style, and close range weapons. Something she doubted anyone had bothered to do, even if they had the technical skill to do so.

Fingers flying over the keyboard, ethernet cords draped over her shoulders, snaking between her legs, a small smile crossed over Amy's face as she snuggled deeper into the worn seat.

Meg smiled at Jo, and couldn't believe her eyes. Jo was beautiful before, but now...

"You look good, Jo!" Meg said. Jo blinked. "I certainly feel different." She said.

Meg walked over to the counter, and pulled out her card. "It's not even that big of a change, but wow is it sexy!"

Jo turned, and looked at herself in the full mirror. The tips of her messy white hair had been dyed blood red, and the way it complimented her eyes was unnerving.

Meg had dressed her in those ripped, eye-catching jeans, and a black tight fitting T-shirt complimented her figure. A dark red T-shirt of the same size and length went over top the black one. Both had slashes in them; some slashes in the red shirt showed the black shirt underneath, while some matched up with slashes in the black shirt to show skin. A black leather choker was around her throat.

"D-do I...look good?" Jo asked, wondering for the first time why she cared so much. It was a long way from the plain over-sized T-shirts she was used to. Perhaps it was because Meg had paid for it all...

"You look gooder than good!" Meg said.

Jo tore her gaze away from herself, and focused her dark red eyes on Meg. "Is gooder a word?" She asked softly.

Meg found herself unable to breathe, captured by Jo's intense gaze. "Uhh...I don't know..." Meg said. "We should uh...leave now."

The hairstylist at the counter snickered as she swiped Meg's card through the reader. It approved instantly, and she handed it back to Meg.

"Have a good night." She said, winking at Meg.

Meg nodded, and took Jo's hand. _'Oh, I hope we have a good night. I gotta say, dressed like that, Jo could read me an end user licence agreement, and she would have my undivided attention, and eternal carnal desire.'_

They walked out of the shop, and Meg looked at her cellphone. "Oh, hey, we've been out for a while. Want to wander back home?" She asked. Jo took the bag of clothes from her, and nodded. "Might as well."

Meg smiled happily at her. "I had fun with you today!" Jo looked at her, and squeezed her hand. "I also enjoyed our day together."

Meg smiled happily, and they walked toward the exit.

"We should go out together more often!" Meg said, pushing open the door. Jo walked through it, and Meg paused, holding the door open for another couple. They thanked her, and ducked inside the door. Meg let it go, and continued walking. The sun was beginning to set, and they walked slowly, heads down to avoid the bright glare.

"Jo?" Meg asked softly, rubbing her thumb over Jo's finger.

"Yes, Meg?"

"You would...never throw me away for anyone else...or even to be by yourself, would you?"

Jo's eyes narrowed, and she glared daggers at the cracked pavement beneath her feet.

"Never. Why would you think that?"

"Well, I'm not that great of a fighter, and you could do so much better without me tagging along, an-"

Jo cut her off. "I would be nothing without you. It's not all about fighting, and that's not all that matters. You matter, Meg. To me, you matter more than anything or anyone."

Meg sidled closer, and leaned her head on Jo's shoulder. Jo moved her arm so it was around Meg's shoulders, holding her close.

"I'm glad to hear it, Jo."

Jo looked up, and leveled her gaze at the sinking sun. "No matter where I go, you will be with me. You will never be without me, and no matter where you wander in your lifetime, I'll be by your side, holding your hand and protecting you from everything."

Sei looked up as the door opened. She greeted Meg as she walked through the door, and looked back down to her paperwork. Something in her peripheral vision made her look back up, and when she did, she started slightly, before realizing that she was looking at Jo.

"That's quite the makeover." Sei said, nodding in greeting to Jo.

"All Meg's brilliant idea." Jo said, removing her shoes.

"Of course. I would expect nothing less. It looks good though, however surprising it may be."

Meg squealed. "I know, right!"

Sei smiled, and resumed her paperwork.

"Leo and Amy are working on Django, in case you need either of them."

Meg poked her head out of the refrigerator, and looked at Sei, puzzled. "What could Amy possibly do to Django?"

"She's running checks on all the electrical systems, as well as something else...diagnostic something-or-other. Either way, she's expecting big gains from her work, so try not to disturb her."

Meg nodded. "I'll be in my room, reading." She said. She straightened up, and closed the refrigerator. Water bottle in hand, she walked toward her room.

Jo took her place at the fridge, opening it up and looking inside.

Sei tolerated the rustling for a few minutes, before smiling. "Looking for something in particular?"

Jo straightened up, running her fingers through her hair. "Not sure what I want." She said. "Hoping something would interest me."

Sei got up from the table, as Jo sat down. "Want me to make you something?"

Jo shrugged lightly. "Are you having anything?"

"Just coffee."

"Okay, I'll have some too."

Sei poured herself another cup, then Jo's. She turned and set them both on the table, then retrieved the milk and sugar, setting them down on the table for Jo.

"So, how are you handling the laid back couple of days we've had?" Sei asked, reaching into the cupboard.

Jo poured some milk into her coffee, and dissolved two cubes of sugar into it.

"Better than I thought I would." Jo said. "I like fighting. It's annoying that I can't right now, but Meg keeps my mind off it most of the time."

Sei sat down, and set a plate of cookies on the table between them.

"How is the relationship between you two going, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I fear Meg would be in a better position to understand all of this and give you an appropriate answer, but...I'm happy. I like where we are at."

"Was tonight a little date for you girls?"

Jo took a sip of coffee, and stared at the plate of cookies, looking but not seeing. All she could see in her mind was Meg's smiling face.

"It was, yeah. Our first real date."

"How did you like it?"

Jo raised her dark eyes to meet Sei's and Sei couldn't stop a shiver from passing through her body. Jo's eyes were...intimidating, ferocious, seductive, and breath-taking...it was almost impossible to look away. Sei had almost forgotten that she had asked a question, when Jo opened her mouth to reply.

"It was nice. I feel like we're getting closer. Closer than we were before, if that's even possible."

Sei smiled slightly. "It sure seems like you're bonding even tighter than ever." She said. "How are things on the, ah...physical...side of the relationship?"

Jo's gaze hardened, and her pupils narrowed. For a second, Sei thought she had crossed a line, but Jo merely glared, as if offended by some memory.

"We...haven't done anything serious. Fooled around, yeah, but, ironically enough, we haven't even kissed each other on the lips yet."

Sei raised an eyebrow. "That's...different." She said slowly.

"Guess we're just too busy kissing other places." Jo said, smirking at Sei's surprised throat-clearing.

"Wow, that's...a vivid image." Sei said, wondering how to phrase her thoughts. She wasn't prone to girly talk about such subjects, and certainly not about her fellow team members, but part of her was glad Jo was opening up. She decided to see just how talkative Jo would be.

"Anything else you feel like talking about? Or can I just ask questions until you don't feel like answering them anymore?"

Jo reached out, and snagged a cookie, taking a bite out of it. "Ask away." She said. "I like talking to you."

Sei leaned back, and stared at Jo, tilting her head to the side a bit. The answer was puzzling, but perhaps there was some simple logic behind her answer. Out of the three possible people to talk to, not counting Meg, Sei could see that it was an easy choice to pick her. Leo was a guy, and more like an aquaintance, than a friend, and Amy was far too young to understand anything. If she _did_ understand anything, then it was unlikely that she would hold a serious conversation with Jo without resorting to prodding and teasing.

"And why is it that you like to talk to me?" Sei asked.

Jo looked at her with a level gaze. "You're smart. You actually listen. And I think you know so much more about everything than you let on."

Sei was taken aback. "Well, thank you for your confidence, Jo. I'll do my best to live up to your expectations."

Jo said nothing, but Sei was already deep in thought. Both were silent for a moment, before Sei resumed her questioning.

"And how come you haven't...you know...kissed her? From the sounds of it, you both have had multiple opportunities."

Jo leaned back and looked at the ceiling, her half-eaten cookie forgotten in her fingers.

"It just hasn't felt right." She said. Sei's eyebrow raised slightly. "It doesn't feel right to kiss Meg?" She asked, unclear of Jo's answer.

"Not...not right, but...the right time hasn't come along. It's one of those things that can't be rushed, and everything has to be perfect. I don't know how to really bring it about, and she hasn't done it, so clearly it should wait."

Sei smiled, and reached over, taking Jo's cookie. She popped it into her mouth, and chewed slowly. Jo stared at her, unblinking, as Sei took her time, following it with a sip of coffee.

"I think you're over-thinking it." She said. "Sure, there's a time and a place for a first kiss, but it isn't something that has to have a million and one factors come into play and fall into place. If it feels right, just do it. I can guarantee she will like it, and remember it regardless of anything you're worrying about."

"Are you sure?" Jo asked.

"I'm positive. It's a wonderful experience, and I'm surprised you two have waited as long as you have. Anticipation can be a useful tool, but don't overdo it. She may end up thinking you don't want to kiss her at all."

Jo frowned, taking a sip of coffee. "Well that isn't right."

Sei smiled at the young girl. "I have a feeling you two will get it all sorted out. Don't worry about anything. I've never seen anyone closer than you two. You were destined for each other. I don't think one could live without the other. A bond that strong is rare; be glad for what you have."

Jo smirked. "Every day I am thankful for a friend as good as Meg."

Sei smiled at her. "You should also be thankful for every moment you can be by her side, without the threat of war casting its dark shadows upon you."

Jo nodded, and stood. She took another sip of coffee, then set the cup down. "I'm going to go see her." She said. "It was nice to talk to you, Sei. We should talk again sometime."

Sei nodded to Jo. "And you as well, I liked our conversation."

Jo walked out of the kitchen, toward Meg's room. When she reached the door, she knocked softly. Sei's words would not rest in her mind; they bothered her. The war that she had once thrived on, was beginning to make her fear. Fear that it would take Meg away from her. Something she could not live with. Her stomach writhed in an unpleasant fashion, as Meg called out for her to enter.

Jo turned the handle, and pushed the door inward. Her eyes immediately sought out Meg, and found her laying on her bed with a pillow propping her head against the wall. There was a book in her hand, yet Meg's eyes were on Jo.

"Hi Jo." Meg smiled. She patted the bed beside her, straightening up so her back was against the wall. "Come join me."

Jo strode forward until she could climb into bed, and did so, laying down beside Meg with her head on Meg's lap.

Meg slowly began to stroke Jo's hair, gently scratching her head at times, before continuing her slow petting.

"No horror movies to watch today?" Meg asked jokingly, turning a page.

Jo made a humming noise in her throat, eyes closed. "Nothing could be better than being by your side." She whispered. Meg blushed, and continued stroking Jo's hair.

An hour passed in silence; only the slow, methodical sound of turning pages breaking the quiet.

Meg thought Jo had fallen asleep, and set her book down. She smiled down at Jo's face, slowly tracing her jaw, lips, nose and delicate eyebrows with a fingertip.

As her finger once more passed lightly over Jo's lips, Jo kissed her finger. Meg pulled away quickly, blushing.

"D-did I wake you?"

Jo smiled, and slowly sat up, stretching. She opened her eyes, and fixed her piercing red gaze on Meg's liquid blue orbs. "I was never asleep." She whispered. "I was thinking."

"O-of?" Meg asked.

Jo leaned forward, and flipped her leg over Meg's waist, straddling her. She took Meg in her arms, one around her shoulders, the other supporting her neck.

Meg's eyes widened, but Jo never hesitated. She leaned down, and gently pressed her lips against Meg's, feeling the girl immediately respond. Meg kissed her back, and Jo lost herself in the feeling of kissing Meg. It was everything she had dreamed it would be, and more. It was soft, and loving; it was slow, and wanting. It was perfect, and it set her heart racing.

Jo pulled away slowly, licking her lips. Her dark eyes found Meg's very happy blue ones.

"I was thinking of kissing the most beautiful girl in the world."

A/N: Part II: Forever By Your Side, is complete. As always, reviews are appreciated. This plot is winding down, and I look forward to those who follow this story to the end. Thanks again!


	6. Part III: Blood Soaked Embrace

Chapter Four

Part III: Blood-Soaked Embrace

A few days had passed since their date, and first kiss. The sexual tension had been very high between the two, and both were sure that everyone could tell. Jo certainly wasn`t given to displays of affection, public or not, but the looks were enough. Meg retained her outwardly friendly attitude, but the underlying coyness, and sometimes downright seduction could not be ignored. Jo couldn`t keep her eyes off Meg, and could barely keep her hands to herself. Never had she felt so alive and animated outside of battle, and for the first time, her mind was occupied even now, when she wasn`t fighting. Normally, nothing ever interested her enough to keep her from falling into restless fits of slumber outside of battle, but now...now she could barely sleep. Her mind was running circles, and it was all because of Meg.

Jo got up from the seat she was in, and moved toward Meg, who was sitting across from her.

"Meg, can I as-" She was cut off as an explosion rocked the trailer, pitching her off balance. She instinctually reached out and grabbed Meg's arm, pulling her into her embrace. Jo squeezed her eyes closed as she hit the tiled floor, Meg's high-pitched scream loud in her ears.

_'The hell is going on?'_ Jo thought, rolling over and covering Meg's body with her own. Pieces of the ceiling rained down on them, a tile cracking Jo in the back of the head. She winced, and held her position over Meg, who was cowering underneath her. Suddenly, a loud pounding at the door caught Jo's attention, and her head whipped around to see a figure dressed in black armor entering the trailer, gun held at the ready.

Before Jo could even think, her gun was out of it's holster; three shots fired. Two impacted the figure in the chest, the last one grazed the helmeted head, dinging off and burying itself in the wall. The figure lurched, but was still alive; the bullet proof vest had done its job. The gun came around, pointing at the two girls on the floor. Enraged, Jo squeezed off three more shots. One landed in the soldiers unprotected throat; between the protective helmet and the neck of the body armor. With a strangled gurgle, the soldier hit the floor, twitching spasmodically. A second soldier was right behind the first, already targeting the girls on the floor.

Jo gritted her teeth, anger coursing through her. She could feel Meg trembling beneath her; they were in a bad spot. Too vulnerable.

The soldier fired his weapon, and at this range, Jo knew a hit was guaranteed. She fired off her gun as fast as she could, but couldn't hold back a scream of pain as a shell from the enemies gun entered her right leg, breaking her tibia.

Luckily, Jo's bullets found their mark as well, and the result was much more lethal. The soldier flopped to the ground, and Jo rolled off Meg.

"Get up, go!" She growled, roughly shoving Meg forward. Meg scrambled to her feet, and stayed as low as she could, heading for the hallway.

"Get to your room!" Jo hollered after her, unable to mask the pain in her voice. She could hear Meg's terrified gasps of breath, and once she was out of sight around the corner, Jo rolled onto her back, drawing her other gun.

Scooting backward, Jo leaned her back against the wall, pointing both guns at the doorway. She tried to ignore the intense pain in her leg, as well as the slippery blood covering the floor. The white of bone was peeking through her torn, bloody clothing, but she paid it no heed.

_'Just stay safe Meg, please. It's all I want.'_

A second later, another soldier charged the hole in the wall; Jo squeezed her triggers until she was deaf; she didn't hear the guns click empty, but she felt them stop recoiling. The body flopped to the ground, and Jo sighed in relief. It came out sounding more like a drowning man gasping for breath. The blood was pounding in her head, and her vision was blurring.

Quickly, she reloaded her guns. Once more she brought her guns to bear on what was left of the doorway, but she was unnerved by the shaking in her hands. She clutched the gun handles tighter; they shook even more. Jo swallowed dryly, licking her lips. Her breathing was ragged, and the pain was spreading through her leg.

_'Come on. Come through that door, I fucking dare you.'_

There was nothing for the briefest of moments, then a small canister flew in through the doorway, landing on the floor and rolling slowly toward her. Jo's eyes widened, and in contrast, her pupils narrowed. There was no time to think, before it went off with a deafening bang, bright light illuminating the room and blinding her. Jo brought her arms up in front of her, covering her face, but she was already sightless. Her hearing, which had only just begun to return after the deafening barrage from her guns, was gone once more, leaving her isolated from the outside world.

She could smell the acrid smoke from her guns; the scent of the powder used in the flash-bang. She could feel the vibrations across the floor as countless men entered the trailer. She waved her guns about, squeezing the triggers as fast as she could. Suddenly, pain erupted in her hands, and the guns fell from her numbed grasp. Another unseen, unheard strike, and pain erupted across her face, knocking her over. She hit the trailer floor gasping for breath, inhaling dust, dirt and drywall particles. She began coughing uncontrollably, no longer even registering the pain from her shin. She was struggling to breathe, and every sense was overloaded; she couldn't even think anymore.

She laid there for what seemed like minutes; slowly her senses came back to her. Her sight recovered first, and when she opened her eyes, she saw only the debris-covered floor of the trailer. She struggled to push herself up, her mind a mass of confused thoughts. Suddenly, strong, merciless hands grabbed her shoulders, hauling her roughly up into a seating position. She could hear faint screaming, and it scared her when she realized it was her own voice. Her hearing was returning, and the pain from her roughly handled right leg was making her scream louder than she ever had before.

She bit her tongue, drawing blood when a gloved hand grabbed her jaw roughly, forcing her head up. Her blurred vision cleared, and she found herself looking up at a trembling Meg, a knife held to her throat.

Jo felt, for the first time, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry." She whispered softly through bloody lips, her gaze never straying from Meg's. Meg's eyes widened, unable to believe that Jo had been beaten.

"No...Jo, I..." The knife pressed closer to her skin, and Meg stopped, whimpering. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly. Jo felt the tears rolling down her cheeks, and she blinked to clear her vision. Despair hit her like a bullet straight to the heart as she realized there was absolutely nothing she could do. She could not fight her way out of this.

A soldier slowly moved over to Meg, and raised his gun, pointing it at her. Meg couldn't stifle a whimper of terror, and she began shaking uncontrollably. Jo bared her teeth, but it was a useless gesture.

The gunshot was unbearably loud, but Meg's tortured scream seemed louder to Jo, as blood erupted in a hot spray from her tender flesh. Jo lunged forward, rage making her as blind as the tears in her eyes. She heard herself screaming Meg's name; her voice broken and full of anger, hate, and fear. The soldier who shot Meg merely turned, and slammed the butt of his rifle into Jo's face as hard as he could. The sound of Jo's breaking nose and fractured cheek never reached her own ears as she blacked out instantly. Her body hit the floor, and the soldiers left as quickly as they arrived, taking their dead with them.

Jo came into consiousness as quickly as she had left it, sitting upright in her bed, gasping for breath. Immediately, Meg's name was on her lips. She ignored her dry throat, her fingers clawing at the blanket that covered her. Disregarding the pain in her right shin, she jumped out of bed. She needed Meg.

Sei was changing the dressing on Meg's wound when she heard Jo calling out Meg's name in a frantic voice. A second later, she heard a thump, and she sighed, getting up. Jo was awake, and now she had to deal with her. Sei left the room, and walked down the hall to Jo's room. She opened the door, and found Jo on the floor, looking up at her pitifully, with a frantic expression that Sei had never seen before on her face. It unsettled the leader greatly, but she did not show it.

"Jo, what's wrong?"

Jo's blood red eyes were wide and frightened. "Meg! Where is she! Is she okay?" Jo began dragging herself forward, pushing herself with her good leg. "Tell me where she is!"

Sei walked over and knelt down, putting a hand on Jo's head. "She's fine, calm down."

Jo shook her head, beginning to hyper-ventilate. "No. No, let me see her!"

Sei took a deep breath, and slapped Jo sharply across the face. Hand stinging, Sei glared at Jo as the warrior looked back at her, shocked.

"Get a hold of yourself." Sei commanded sharply. "I've never seen such poor performance out of you. And now you're falling apart. It's pathetic. Get yourself together."

Jo was sharply reminded that Sei was a team leader first and foremost, and a friend second. Her burning cheek was testament to that.

Jo lowered her gaze to the floor, and clenched her jaw tightly. She could feel her teeth grinding together. After a moment of silence, Jo rolled herself onto her side, and brought her good leg up to her chest. She used her hands to push herself back over, and slowly, shakily raised herself up onto her good leg. She stood for a second, but couldn't hold her balance. Sei saw this, and quickly stepped forward, grabbing Jo's arm. She pulled it across her shoulders, and helped steady Jo.

"Meg is fine, but still unconscious." Sei said, slowly helping Jo limp forward. "I will take you to see her, but you need to rest after that. And I need to finish changing her bandages."

Jo nodded, silent for a moment.

"What happened?" Jo asked quietly.

Sei didn't answer right away; she helped Jo navigate the corner around the door.

"When the explosion went off, my thoughts went straight to Amy. She is the one I protect during battle, as you protect Meg."

Jo winced as she tried to put pressure on her broken leg; it would not hold.

"Anyway, last I had heard, she was still in the hangar, working on Django with Leo. I grabbed a small pistol from my bedside drawer, and rushed out. I found no enemies, and was able to make it to the hangar without confrontation. Once there, I confirmed Amy's safety, as well as Leo's."

Sei stopped, and reached out, pushing Meg's door fully open. Jo hobbled through with the help of Sei, and collapsed near Meg's bed.

Sei backed away a few feet, and stood silently by.

Jo pulled herself to the edge of the bed, and reached out, stroking Meg's cheek. Her eyes took in every beautiful curve of her face, and her sharp ears picked out Meg's soft, shallow breathing. Jo hadn't really believed Sei when she said that Meg was okay. Seeing her now, knowing that she was still alive...Jo felt her breath hitch in her throat, and she lowered her head to Meg's stomach, her hand finding Meg's and holding it tight.

The tears were silent at first. Lonely streaks of wetness coursing down her cheek, over the bridge of her nose. Jo couldn't hold back the flood of emotions for long though; a sobbing gasp wracked her body as she vocalized her grief.

Sei was embarrassed to witness such a thing. She silently excused herself, exiting the room and closing the door slightly. She could still hear Jo's crying down the hall, and in a strange way, it was the saddest, most disturbing sound she had ever heard. Angels should never cry in mourning.

Sei walked slowly to the kitchen, and surveyed the damage. It was in the middle of being repaired; Leo was taking time from Django to try his hand at fixing up the trailer. It was coming along pretty good. The hole where the door used to be had been sealed up, and Leo was now framing a replacement door. The sounds of his hammer blows drowned out the anguished cries of Jo, and for that, Sei was glad. She poured herself another cup of coffee, and held it tight, staring into the swirling blackness. It held no answers to her unspoken questions, and after a moment she raised it to her lips in resignation, taking a sip.

She would give it ten minutes or so, then go check on Meg. She still needed to finish changing the bandages on her shoulder. That was where Meg had been shot. Her left shoulder. The barrel of the rifle had been close enough that on top of the bullet going right through her arm, the skin around the wound was also flecked with gun powder burns. It was a painful, gory mess, and Sei was glad that Meg was unconscious for it.

Jo tried to contain the tears, but it was useless. The flood wouldn't stop. She had given in, letting all of her emotions flood out of her in a raging torrent. Her tears had soaked through Meg's shirt, but the unconscious girl wouldn't have felt a thing.

Slowly, the scent of blood reached through the haze of overwhelming thoughts and feelings, and Jo opened her eyes, sniffling. She sat up slowly, and looked at the wound Meg had received. The dressing was partially undone, the bandages blood-soaked and dirty. Meg's shirt had been cut with scissors from the neck, down to under the shoulder, revealing the entire wound.

_'Sei must have been in the middle of changing these.'_ Jo thought, reaching out slowly. Her fingers caressed the soft skin of Meg's throat, but stopped when they neared her wound. Jo had seen much worse; had _had _much worse; somehow, seeing the broken, torn flesh of her precious Meg made it unbearable. Jo had much experience treating wounds, both others' and her own, but as she reached for Meg's bandages, her hands shook like they had never shaken before. Jo swallowed nervously, and blinked a few times, shaking her head. She had dealt with a thousand gunshot wounds before. This was nothing to get worked up about.

Jo gently peeled off the bandages, hesitating when she came to a part of the bandage that was stuck to Meg's skin with dried blood. She looked around, then looked down. She spotted an open medikit near her feet; the one Sei had been using. She reached down, and grabbed a small bottle of distilled water. It had a squeeze nozzle on it, and she gently squeezed the bottle until water spilled out the tip. She directed the flow to the bandage clinging to Meg's skin, and once it was soaked, set the bottle down. She picked up a sterilized razor blade, and carefully began cutting through the bloody bandage. Bits of dried blood and strands of bandage still stuck to Meg's skin, but it was nothing a gentle wash-cloth wouldn't take care of.

Now fully concentrating on the task at hand, the emotional hand tremors slowly disappeared as Jo focused on her job. Minutes later, and the old bandage was removed. Jo examined the wound, and noted that although the skin around the wound was puckered with burn marks, the wound itself was clean. The burn marks would resolve themselves with time, and appropriate treatment, and the wound need only some minor stitching, and antiseptic applied to it. Jo picked up a needle and thread, and within seconds, expertly threaded the needle's pinhole. She picked up a small lighter from the case, and flicked it twice before it caught. She held the needle in the flame for ten seconds, ignoring the heat building near her fingertips. Once she had counted to ten, she dropped the lighter, and picked up an antiseptic wipe. She tore the packaging with her teeth, and pulled out the cloth. She swiped it along the needles length, and considered it clean. She bent over Meg's still body, and gently slid the needle into her flesh. A few minutes, and six overlapping strands of thread later, the entry wound was closed. Jo cut the thread, and knotted the end as close to the skin as she could, cutting off the excess. She put a small piece of tape over it to keep it from coming undone, then rummaged through the first aid kit once more. She came up with a tube of burn ointment, and unscrewed the cap. She squeezed out a small amount onto Meg's shoulder, and gently massaged the cream around on her skin.

When Jo was satisfied with the application of the burn cream, she slowly tore off a strip of new, clean bandage. She laid it over the would carefully, then pressed it into place. The burn cream helped keep it in place, but she put two pieces of clear tape over each end, to make sure the bandage didn't wander, and pull on the thread.

"Seems like you have everything under control." Sei's cool voice noted. Jo showed no sign of hearing her, as she slowly picked up everything she had used. She put the cap back on the burn cream, and put it away.

"Are you going to help me with the exit wound?" Jo asked quietly. Sei moved toward her on near-silent feet. "Of course. I want you to hold her torso up, while I stitch." Sei said.

Jo nodded, and slowly pushed herself up on her good leg, refusing Sei's offered helping hand. Sei took no offense to Jo's cold behaviour; she deserved it.

Jo sat down on the edge of the bed, and used her good leg to push herself further back. When she was ready, she reached forward, and slipped one arm around Meg's neck, and the other around her waist. She pulled Meg's body up, and hugged her close. Sei also positioned herself on the bed, facing Meg's back.

"Okay, good. Hold her still there, I have good access to the wound."

Jo was silent, but hugged Meg tightly to her body. She lowered her head, and buried her nose in Meg's neck, inhaling her beautiful scent.

Less than ten minutes later, and Sei was finished.

"You can let her down now." Sei said, removing herself from the bed. Jo was silent; she slowly leaned forward, not letting go of Meg, until they were both laying down on the bed.

"You're staying here?" Sei asked, watching Jo struggle to get her broken leg up onto the bed.

Jo nodded. "You said I needed to rest."

Sei smiled, and reached forward. She gently took Jo's leg, and lifted it up, placing it down on the bed. In lieu of a cast, Sei had taken a two foot long piece of wood from the wreckage in the kitchen, and had ran it along Jo's shin after she had set the bone. She had then wound bandage tightly around the leg and the wooden splint, careful to make sure no splinters dug into her skin.

"Thank you." Jo said. Sei shook her head. "Rest up. Today has been hard on all of us."

Sei didn't get an answer; she never expected one. Jo was already asleep, holding on to Meg as if she were the most important piece of her world.

Sipping her coffee, Sei was glad that the wounds to the girls weren't any worse than they were. Meg had escaped with a gunshot wound, and a scratched throat. Jo had fared slightly worse. Her tibia had been broken by the bullet, and her nose had to be straightened. Sei had had to resist the urge to throw up when her fingers had touched the soft, spongy, bruised tissue of her cheek. It was repulsive to feel the cheek bone sinking into her face, grinding against another bone in her face. Sei didn't know much about surgery, and had called in a professional to make sure her cheek and nose were set correctly to prevent any problems coming up in the future. He also stayed to oversee the setting of Jo's tibia, and only left when Sei assured him that she knew how to take care of Meg's bullet wound.

It was very unfortunate, Sei reflected, that they had been overwhelmed so easily. The element of surprise was a powerful tool, one that the enemy had used to their advantage.

Sei took a sip of her coffee, lost in thought. Causing confusion and instability with the RPG prior to the attack was a brilliant stroke as well, catching all of them off guard. They had hit as hard and fast as they could, and with the element of surprise, it was a nearly fool-proof tactic.

If only Jo didn't need to protect Meg...Jo would have easily taken care of those soldiers. Although Sei knew absolutely no blame laid with Meg. Because if it did, then that meant that blame also laid with Amy. For if Sei had no need to protect Amy, then she could have helped Jo out, and prevented a lot of injuries from happening. It was all a rather bad stroke of luck, and not one Sei was willing to repeat.

"I wonder why they didn't kill anyone?" She asked herself, deeply perturbed by the fact that they didn't. It was fortunate that they did not, but also deeply confusing. Surely they were enemies, and Jo had treated them as such, killing a few of them before being overwhelmed. Why did they not return the favor? And why could she not shake the disturbing feeling that they were somehow connected to Bailan...?

Sei set her cup down, and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. Things were getting out of hand. Nothing was black and white anymore. Good guys weren't good guys, and the bad guys weren't all that bad. Nothing added up, no matter how she manipulated the numbers.

The things she knew for sure were all things that she did not like. The enemy knew of their location, and had successfully staged a surprise raid on them. During the confusion, they had entered the trailer, and overwhelmed Sei's best fighter, Jo. They had also completely ignored the rest of the trailer, which meant they had ignored Sei, Leo, and Amy. They had deliberately targeted Meg as a hostage, and used her to bring Jo to her knees. Although at that point, Jo hadn't possessed enough strength to get off her knees in the first place. The enemy had then incapacitated both of them, and disappeared, taking their dead with them, so as to not betray a single detail about their operation.

Sei couldn't put it together no matter how hard she tried. She just couldn't make sense of it, and it infuriated her.

After a moment, she sighed in defeat. There wasn`t any point to getting worked up about it.

Sei decided to go see what Amy was up to. Amy might be able to find something; if anyone could without raising suspicion, it would be her.

Sei walked calmly down the hall toward Amy`s room, wondering what the little hacker would be up to.

Sei knocked lightly on the door, and Amy`s voice called out for her to come in. She entered, and shut the door behind her.

"Hey, Amy. How are you?"

Amy shook her head. "Can I see Meg and Jo yet?" She asked.

Sei shook her head. "Not yet. When they wake up. They are fine though, you have nothing to worry about. Listen, I want to talk to you about the attackers. It was obviously a statement or a warning, leaving them both alive like that. The only thing is, we can't make waves...some digging around has to be done, but quietly. Can you do that?"

Amy nodded. "I actually have already done some looking, but I feared this would be a tight-lipped operation so I've only scratched the surface. I haven't dug very deep; figured waiting for your command would be best."

"Did you find anything significant?"

Amy bit her lip. "Well, not really. I just started with the fact that at minimum, four armed men attacked us, in heavy armor, with weapons. That would be too noticeable on the streets, and sure enough, hacking the governments traffic surveillance system near our location shows nothing in the hour leading up to the attack. Which indicates a method of transportation. So I did a search on all the cameras within a five kilometer radius of our position."

"Did you find anything?"

Amy nodded. "Black cube transport van shows up, driving around our area, disappears into a back-street where the cameras don't point. Whoever thought this operation was pretty thorough."

"License plate trace?" Sei asked.

Amy shook her head. "Like I said, very very well planned. It was rare to catch a glimpse of the rear of the vehicle where the plate was affixed; it's like they knew the route they wanted to take that would leave minimum views of their back."

"So no plate then?"

Amy shook her head. "Ahh, you underestimate me!" She 'tsk-tsk'ed, shaking her head. "The van passed by several stores; a quick hack of their cameras allowed me very short, grainy glimpes of the plate. I had to view four different store cameras to get enough shots of the plate to piece together an image."

"Did you already run the plate?"

Amy nodded. "I didn't know if they would expect us to find and run it or not, so at first I was hesitant, then when I thought of Jo and Meg, I got too angry to care. I ran it, but it came up blank."

Sei was silent for a minute. "Blank?" She asked. "That doesn't make sense. Everything is automated. Computerized. There's no way it could be blank. Does the database show signs of tampering?"

Amy shook her head. "Not a single one. Given that everything is so highly regulated, I had to wonder just how they managed to come across town with a blank, unregistered plate on their vehicle. So I followed all the cameras back to their origin point."

"And?"

"Well they actually originate out of town, so that is no help in discovering who they are or where their base is. However, five minutes into town, sure enough RAPT pulls them over. I got it on one of the cameras."

"How did the police not take them in?"

Amy shrugged. "Apparently these soldiers carry some weight. Four minutes of discussion, and RAPT let them go. Nothing in RAPT's database recording the incident either. No warning, no ticket, no apprehension."

"Conclusions?" Sei asked. She had already drawn her own; she wanted to see Amy's thought process at work.

"Either a very powerful crime organization that RAPT was ordered not to engage, simply a dirty cop, or a government job."

Sei nodded. She had drawn the similar obvious conclusions.

"One would be inclined to think that if it were a hit by RAPT or the government, that they would not even pull over that van, knowing it was one of them, or at least a government agent. However, they could be simulating realism...although that doesn't explain no entry into the police database...they really don't want to leave a trail, eh? Electronic or otherwise."

Amy shrugged. "It's all I have for now. I'll keep looking."

Sei nodded. "Good work, Amy." She got up, and patted the young girl on the head, before departing.

A/N: Part III done. Almost there! Reviews and comments are appreciated, constructive criticism welcome as well. Let me know what you think!


	7. Part IV: A Chaste Goodbye

Love You To Death

Chapter Four

Part IV: A Chaste Goodbye

Jo awoke slowly. She grimaced in pain; her head was groggy and it hurt, throat extremely dry. It was sore too. Probably from yelling. Her cheek felt inflamed and bruised. Probably looked terrible too. Her nose was sore. It was difficult to breathe through. Her shin was killing her; keeping it still helped only marginally.

Her thoughts turned to Meg, and she slowly turned her head to look at the girl beside her. Jo was caught off guard when her eyes met Meg`s wide open blue orbs.

"M-Meg..." Jo's voice was a whisper; it hurt to talk too loud, and her voice was filled with guilt.

"Are you okay Jo?" Meg asked quietly. Jo wondered at the tone of her voice. It was missing something...

"Forget about me, I'm fine. Are...are you okay?" Jo asked.

Meg said nothing. She rolled over onto her back, and stared at the ceiling.

"Meg?"

No answer.

"I'm sorry." Jo's voice was broken, full of hurt.

No answer. Meg closed her eyes.

Jo laid there, wishing she could understand what was happening. She thought she knew, but she didn't want to accept it. Facing the truth would hurt. Hurt a lot more than any bullet wound.

Jo felt the all-too-familiar feeling of tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, and she hated herself for it. She had never felt this way, ever in her life. Now...pain and sadness were all she had been feeling recently.

Jo threw her legs over the edge of the bed, ignoring the pain in her leg. She willed her old self to come back as she sat up, wincing. She pushed herself off the bed into a precarious standing position, and when she was sure of her balance, limped away.

The old familiar anger surged through her with each painful step of her injured leg. With each step she put more pressure on it until the bone was protesting as painfully as she could handle without passing out. She missed this anger; the bloodlust boiling inside her. She wanted more.

"Sei!" Jo hollered. She coughed as her voice weakened.

"Sei!" She called out again, limping down the hallway. A second later, and Sei rounded the corner in front of her, a concerned look on her face.

"What? What's wrong, Jo? Is Meg okay? Are you alright?"

Jo clenched her jaw, feeling her teeth grind together. "I don't know if she's fine. She won't talk to me!"

Sei's eyes widened. "Why in the world would she not talk to you?" She asked, uncomprehending. Jo shrugged, throat too sore to talk.

Sei ducked under Jo's arm, and helped take the weight off her leg. Jo wanted to resist; she didn't. She needed Sei.

"You need water, from the sound of it. Come sit down in the kitchen. We can talk there."

Jo nodded wordlessly, moving slowly down the rest of the hall. At the end, she moved the few steps over to the table, and sat down, sighing. Sei placed a hand on her shoulder, and squeezed it gently.

"Just water?" She asked softly. Jo nodded. Sei let go, and moved toward the bullet-riddled cupboard. Courtesy of Jo's enraged, blind firing. Sei opened it, and stared at the several shattered glasses with a look of distaste, then selected an intact one. She closed the door on the mess, shaking her head. Turning on the tap, the trailer's on-board pump hummed softly in the background. Sei filled the cup, and shut off the tap, bringing it over and setting it in front of Jo.

Jo stared at the cup for a minute, before reaching out and slowly picking it up. She took a drink, eyes open and staring off unfocused into space. Jo was lost in thought, Sei knew, and whatever they were, they were heavy thoughts. Sei sat down across from Jo.

"So Meg wouldn't talk to you?" Sei said gently, trying to initiate conversation.

Jo's dark red eyes narrowed in obvious anger. "No, she wouldn't." Jo said, anger poisoning every word.

Sei was a bit unsettled at her tone. This was so unlike Jo. It was a tone reserved for issuing commands that preceded the certain death of whoever had put Meg in danger. It was dark, dangerous, and foreboding.

"Why not?" Sei asked, hiding her discomfort.

Jo's head lowered slightly, and her glare fell upon the table. At least, Sei thought, that was the direction Jo was looking. Whether she was _seeing_ was a different matter entirely.

"I don't know." Jo said. She took another drink of water, and Sei didn't miss her white-knuckled grip on the glass. Nor the way it trembled slightly in her hand.

"You just up and left then?"

Jo nodded. "There was nothing I could do. The way she ignored me...hurt."

Sei nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry Jo."

Jo turned her angry gaze to Sei, and bared her teeth viciously.

"Who were they?" She asked, not caring that Sei's eyes widened in shock at her behavior.

"Tell me who!" Jo said, standing up. "I'll kill every single one of them!"

Sei stood as well, knowing her leader status would be useless in controlling Jo if she didn't exhibit authority and power.

"Calm down!" Sei ordered harshly, wondering if Jo would get violent with her.

"Tell me who they are!" Jo yelled. "They hurt Meg! They're the reason Meg won't talk to me! She doesn't trust me anymore because of them! She has no faith in my ability to protect her!"

Sei felt her heart breaking for the emotional girl in front of her, but there was nothing she could do.

"I don't know who they are, Jo!" Sei said forcefully, trying to get Jo back in line.

"The hell you don't!" Jo screamed, back-handing the half full glass of water off the table. It flew across the room and smashed into the wall. Sei flinched as Jo raised her fist.

"You know who they are, and I want you to fucking tell me!"

"Don't you talk to me like that!" Sei yelled back, anger flaring up. "I'm in charge here. Put your fist down, NOW!"

Jo growled, and raised it higher. Instantly, Sei lashed out, kicking Jo in the broken leg hard. Jo immediately cried out in pain, falling down to the floor. Another swift movement brought Sei's closed fist into the side of Jo's head, knocking her flat on her back on the tiled floor.

Breathing hard, Sei curbed her anger, and glared down at Jo.

"I hope you've come to your senses." Sei said coldly. "I will not tolerate aggression from anyone."

Jo said nothing, crying openly on the floor. Sei wiped a trickle of blood from her bruised knuckle, and turned away. She stopped short when she saw Amy in the hallway, staring back at them with wide eyes. She was clutching her backpack tight, trying not to tremble.

Sei instantly regretted her outburst, but knew that regret would solve nothing.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Amy." She said. "But everything is fine now."

Without waiting for a response, Sei walked past her, and entered her room. She shut and locked the door behind her.

Amy looked at Jo curled up into a ball on the floor, crying. Obviously from physical pain, but it was clear that there was emotional pain too. Slowly, still holding her backpack tight to her chest, she walked over to Jo.

"Are you okay Jo?" Amy asked softly, kneeling down on the floor.

Jo, clutching her knees to her chest, looked up at Amy. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and there was a small cut on the left side of her face, near the temple.

Slowly, the red-eyed warrior shook her head. "I'm not okay." She whispered, her voice breaking.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked innocently. She didn't fully comprehend everything she had seen and heard, but it was clear something was wrong.

Jo lowered her forehead to her knees, and squeezed her eyes closed in a futile attempt at stopping the tears.

"Everything." Was her whispered reply.

Sei locked the door with a quiet click, then walked over to her bed. She sat down on it heavily, and dropped her face into her hands. She tried to calm her breathing, which was shaky. She took a few deep breaths until her heartrate returned to normal.

_'Bailan is behind this. I'm sure of it!' _She thought. _'If they are...who do I choose? My subordinates...no, my friends? Or the well-structured, family organization that will be my home, my business, my empire?'_ Sei raised her head and looked into the ornate mirror that sat across from her. She stared at her reflection, contemplating what she should do. Being a leader wasn't easy, and there were a lot of difficult decisions. She had always gone through life making decisions based firstly, on what was right and wrong according to her personal beliefs, and secondly, whether the benefits outweighed the disadvantages. This was something not nearly so black and white. She couldn't fit this into her formula, and come out with an answer that pleased herself, and everyone she knew. There was no way. She couldn't make this decision...

Her eyes hardened. She had to. She had to make a decision. Inaction would be a betrayal to both her family AND her friends, whereas a decision now would result in only one betrayal.

Sei let herself fall back onto the bed, and she stared at the ceiling. She was tired. Mentally, and physically, she was exhausted. She never expected life to be easy, but then again, she never expected something like this. If it was found that Bailan was behind the attack, then it would be clear that they intended to do away with Jo. Perhaps even Meg. Would Sei stand by and let that happen? If she fought against them, would they turn on her?

So many questions. No answers. It felt like they were fighting a losing battle, with no hope in sight. Now they were fighting amongst themselves, emotions getting the best of them. Of all of them. Sei knew she could have chosen a much more appropriate course of action. But it was necessary. Sei could not afford to show weakness in front of anyone. She had tried to solve the situation diplomatically. She would not tolerate further insubordination. She had to show that she was fit to be the leader, through physical prowess. Violence was the language Jo understood best, after all. Sei would be an unfit leader if she had let Jo get away with what she did. Her ability to command would be called into question. Her total control over her unit would have vanished. She could not let that happen.

Mind racing with a thousand thoughts, Sei drifted off into an uneasy slumber.

Meg bit her lip when she heard the yelling. She couldn't make out the words, but she could hear Jo screaming. Sei's forceful voice seemed to be ineffective against the hot-blooded warrior as Jo retaliated with more screaming.

_`What the hell are they fighting about?'_ Meg thought, pulling the white sheet off her lap. She had to use her right arm; her left arm was shot through with pain and wouldn't move.

Slowly, she sat up. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and placed her bare feet on the carpeted floor.

Standing shakily, she pulled her left arm across her stomach, holding it there. She winced as she felt bits of skin pulling and tearing in her shoulder; moments later warm trickles of blood began to show through the light bandaging, staining the pure white over-sized T-shirt she was clothed in.

Ignoring the pain, she felt her heart ache slightly as she heard Jo's screaming voice once more. She padded quietly across the carpeted floor, and reached out to pull open the half-closed door wide enough to slip through. As she let go of her injured left arm to open the door, her arm swung down, tearing even more partially healed skin.

Meg bit her lip, breathing heavily. A small moan escaped her gritted teeth, and her eyes fell to the hot blood seeping from her wound. It was slowly staining the bandaging and the shirt in an ever-widening circle.

Sei's commanding voice reached her ears, and Meg wondered what she was saying. Meg took a second to let the pain fade a bit, before using her right arm to hold her left securely against her body once more. She used her foot to nudge open the door. Down the hall she could hear footsteps, then Sei talking softly.

Meg moved through the door and walked down the hall. She had heard Jo yelling from the kitchen. She would probably still be there.

Meg rounded the corner. Her eyes widened as she saw Amy kneeling on the floor in front of a curled up Jo, and she rushed over, injured arm forgotten.

"W-What happened?" Meg asked, her voice panicked. She dropped down beside Amy, as the young girl looked up at her.

"Jo got mad at Sei, and Sei kicked her in the leg, then backhanded her across the face." Amy said. The tone of her voice made it clear that she felt she was betraying Sei by speaking of the act.

Meg felt her heartbeat quicken, and anger coursed through her as she thought of Sei deliberately targeting Jo's injured body.

"Jo didn't deserve that!" Meg shouted. Amy flinched away from the angry red-head.

"Whether she did or not, this is what happened."

Meg ground her teeth together. "Stupid Sei..." She muttered.

Amy was silent as Meg gently slipped her arm under Jo's neck and shoulders, gently pulling her up into a seating position. Jo offered no resistence, and Meg sat down beside her. She pulled the crying girl into a hug and ran her fingers through Jo's hair.

"Everything will be okay, Jo. I promise." Meg whispered in her ear. "I'm here for you."

Jo, her left shoulder against Meg's chest, her head on Meg's shoulder, slowly lifted her head to look at her.

"Why wouldn't you talk to me?" She whispered. Meg didn't look at her. She pulled Jo tighter to her body, and stared at the floor as her left arm dangled uselessly -and painfully - by her side. Her right hand continued its trail through her hair, trying to calm and soothe her. Neither of them noticed Amy slip away.

"I was ashamed...and scared." Meg whispered. Jo's eyes widened. "Ashamed? And scared of what?"

"I was ashamed that I couldn't be of more help. It seemed like my fault that you got so badly hurt. I tried to get to the armory, but they caught up to me as I was frantically fumbling with the locked door. If you didn't have to protect me, you would have been in a much better position to sh-"

Meg was cut off as she felt Jo's lips against her throat. Jo kissed her softly once, twice, before licking her throat softly. "None of that was any fault of yours." She whispered. "I'm just sorry I couldn't protect you more."

Meg shook her head, more of a protest, but also to get rid of the shivers running down her spine. "You protected me just fine. I'm alive, aren't I?"

Meg couldn't see Jo's dark red eyes narrow in anger. "Only because they left you alive."

Meg was about to speak, but Jo cut her off. "What were you afraid of?"

Meg was quiet for a moment, before speaking. "So many things. Afraid that you hated me. Afraid that you would be sick of getting hurt for my sake, afraid that you secretly wanted me to just go away so you wouldn't get hurt anymore." Meg was nearly in tears when she was done speaking. "I was scared to death that you wouldn't be okay, that you would be..."

Jo snuggled closer to Meg, her lips pressed against Meg's throat. Slowly, Meg felt her smile.

"Meg, I will never hate you, no matter what. I will always get hurt for you, willingly. I will take a thousand more bullets for you. I never want you to go away. The closer you are to me, the better I feel."

Meg sniffled, but couldn't hold back her tears. Silently, they slid down her cheeks.

Jo could hear Meg's heartbeat increase, and she knew Meg was crying. The shuddery breathing was evidence enough.

"And I promise you Meg, I will never die. I will not leave this world before you, to leave you alone and defenseless with no one to hold you and protect you from the evil in this world. I will protect you forever, no matter what it takes."

Meg closed her eyes as Jo's lips pressed against her throat once more.

They were silent for a few moments, until Jo stopped kissing her.

"You lost your trust in me, didn't you?" Jo asked softly.

Meg tightened her grip on Jo, and shook her head. "Never!" She said. "Why do you think I did?"

Jo's voice was subdued. "I let you get hurt. I promised you I would never do that. You don't think I can protect you anymore, do you?"

"You're only human, Jo." Meg answered quietly. "I knew there was a limit to what you could do, and I knew one day I would get seriously hurt. I stuck with it because I care about you. Care about you more than anything, you know that. I'm not as strong as you, but that's because you protect me so well. I was ready to get hurt-get killed, even-, for you. I don't expect you to be able to do everything. You aren't a machine. You're human, Jo. Nothing will change that. You're very good at what you do, but you have your limits like everyone else."

Jo was quiet for a long time. Neither of them said anything for what felt like an eternity. Meg's tears slowly stopped. They dried on her cheeks. Still neither of them spoke. Meg closed her eyes, and felt herself starting to fall asleep, when Jo's quiet voice reached her ears.

"Never leave me Meg. I need you too much."

Meg smiled softly, and she once more petted Jo's head. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be with you until the end."

Jo kissed her throat once more. "The end?" She asked. "That is another human concept that I fear I do not understand. Actually, to be honest, I do not understand 'the end' in terms of ending this life, and continuing after death has come."

"Do you think there is life after death?" Meg asked, wincing at how cliched and stupid it sounded.

"To me, it does not make sense, nor is there any basis to assume there is. Yet...I hope there is. One lifetime with you is not nearly enough."

Meg laughed softly, but was touched by Jo's words. "What would your ideal afterlife be like?" Meg asked. "What is your kind of heaven?"

Jo hummed softly. "A perpetual Valhalla, I think the Vikings had it right. Fighting endlessly against an onslaught of foes, fighting for a day that seems to never come."

Meg laughed. "No, you just want the valkyrie servants that come with the glory." She teased. "Beautiful winged women to serve you after you've had your seat in the golden hall."

Jo was quiet for a second, before speaking softly. "Winged women? Aren't they angels? The only angel I would want is you. You're my beautiful angel, and I love you so much."

Jo pulled away, then reached up and gently took Meg's face in her hands, pulling her close to kiss her on the lips. Meg responded instantly, slipping her good arm around Jo's neck and threading her fingers through Jo's silvery, red-tipped hair.

Jo slowly broke the kiss, and Meg protested with a soft whine. Jo smirked, and pulled away.

"Maybe the kitchen floor isn't the best place." She whispered. Meg agreed, and stood slowly, wary of her arm. She reached down, and help Jo stand, staying close so Jo could lean most of her weight on Meg's shoulder, and keep it off her injured leg.

"Let's go back to the room." Jo said softly. Meg nodded, and slowly they began making their way to the room.

When they entered, Jo caught Meg's gaze turn longingly to the shower.

"Good idea." Jo said. "Can your shoulder handle it, though?"

Meg shrugged. "Wound or no, nothing will keep me from a nice shower." She said, determination in her voice. Jo chuckled, and they began to slowly make their way into the bathroom.

Meg stepped onto the cold tile, and immediately began trying to undress herself. Jo laughed at her one-handed attempts, then stepped closer.

"Allow me." She whispered softly. Meg stopped struggling, relaxing as Jo gently grabbed the hem of her shirt, lifting it up and over her head. Meg shook out her hair, her red lengths flowing down her back.

"I need a little more help, Jo." Meg whispered, stepping closer and pushing out her bra-clad chest. "I can't take this off either!"

Jo smiled, and reached around to Meg's back, her fingers finding the clasp. She expertly undid it, and let it fall to the floor as Meg took the opportunity to kiss and suck on Jo's throat.

Jo closed her eyes, enjoying the feelings coursing through her, but was quickly distracted as she realized they were once again standing in the middle of the bathroom. She opened her eyes, and stepped away from Meg, utilizing the last of her self-control. She really wanted to ravage Meg, but for now...

Meg pouted, but responded to Jo's stern pointing. She turned, and walked toward the shower, turning it on.

"Needs to warm up." She said quietly. Jo smirked. Like clockwork. Could set her watch to that girl. Jo slid up behind Meg, and slipped her fingers into the waistband of her panties. Meg giggled, and looked back over her shoulder. She straightened up, and leaned back into Jo as she slowly wiggled her hips.

"Mmm Jo...undress me...please?"

Jo slowly pushed her panties down, until Meg reached down and slipped them off all the way. They hit the floor unnoticed as Jo slipped her arms around Meg's body. Jo's right arm went around Meg's stomach, pulling the girl tight against her body, while her left caressed her slender throat, tilting her head back and revealing her neck to Jo's hungry lips.

Meg moaned softly, reaching behind with her good arm to cup Jo's ass and pull her closer.

Jo's right hand slid lower, and Meg arched her back, pressing her hips into Jo's touch. Jo smirked, and stopped, earning a protesting moan from Meg.

"Get in the shower, Meg." Jo whispered in her ear. Meg hummed softly, before pulling away from Jo.

"Oh fine." Meg said, grabbing Jo's hand. "Come on, I'll wash you up real nice."

Jo smirked, then let go of her hand. She began to undress herself as calmly as she could, despite her racing heart. When all of her clothes were removed, Jo took Meg's hand once more.

Jo let herself be slowly led into the shower, Meg mindful of her injured leg. As she stepped into the torrent of hot water, she felt the tension of the last twenty-four hours fade slowly from her muscles. She closed her eyes and moved so that she was directly under the shower head, the water beating down on her. It was so relaxing, so peaceful...

She was surprised when she felt Meg's lips press against her own, yet she was unyielding in the kiss. She pressed back, fighting for dominance with the energetic red-head. She felt Meg's arm come around her waist, and Jo stepped closer, pressing their wet naked bodies together.

"Jo, you're so beautiful. Did you know that?" Meg asked, breaking the kiss long enough to trail kisses across her cheek and down her throat.

"Only you would think I am beautiful." Jo replied, stroking Meg's cheek.

"What do you mean by that?"

Jo shrugged, and looked away. "I know I'm not like those girls in the fashion magazines you look at." She said. She continued on even as Meg's mouth opened to protest. "I don't have the long,, flowing dark hair, or the bright blue eyes, I don't dress the best, and I certainly don't have..." Her eyes lowered to her chest, and Meg shook her head.

"You're beautiful, but you aren't too smart Jo." Meg said. Jo looked back up at her, confusion in her eyes.

"You know none of that stuff matters to me, right?" Meg asked. "I think you're so much more beautiful than any of those girls. A thousand times more. You're unique, every single bit of you. Your gorgeous silver hair is to die for, and your eyes are sexy, seductive, and...well...all of you is just so hot that sometimes I can barely control myself." Meg said softly.

Jo's eyes widened, and she studied her blushing red-haired friend carefully. "I thought for sure you would be more attracted to someone like yourself, though." Jo said.

"An' why do you think that?"

Jo shrugged once more. "Amazingly pretty, voluptuous curves everywhere, stunning personality. You're so lovable, its astounding someone hasn't come to take you away while I wasn't looking."

Meg had to laugh at that. "Well, not for lack of trying, Jo! Every time they do though, you just kick their ass until they wish they had never laid eyes on me!"

Jo smiled. "I need to protect what is mine, after all."

Meg hummed, clearly pleased at being called Jo's, and snuggled closer to her silver-haired warrior.

"Jo, sometimes you're so sweet and cute, you make me sick." Meg teased, sticking her tongue out and sliding it across Jo's chest up to her collarbone. She stopped there, and began teasing Jo with her teeth, tongue, and lips.

Jo grinned, and tried to ignore the arousal flooding through her body.

"Meg." Jo said. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked, trying to sound stern but failing.

Meg giggled. "Cleaning you. We're in the shower after all, and I won't stop until every inch of you is clean."

Jo leaned her head back against the shower wall and let the water fall onto her face and throat like a warm rain as she contemplated whether or not to resist. Meg's mouth moved lower, down to one of her breasts now, her hot tongue sliding wetly over her already-erect nipple. Jo stifled a moan of pleasure, and decided that it would be better if she could make Meg hold off just a little bit longer.

Mind made up, Jo straightened up, and ran her fingers through Meg's damp hair. She tangled her fingers in her hair, and gently tugged Meg away from her chest.

Meg looked up at her naughtily, licking her lips. "Mmm Jo, I love it when my hair is pulled...Won't you pull it harder?" She asked, running her good hand down her body to between her legs.

Jo's eyes widened, and she hurriedly extracted her hand from Meg's hair.

"Meg, try to control yourself." Jo said, reaching up and grabbing a bottle of body wash. Meg licked her lips, smirking naughtily.

"Mm but I don't wanna." She said, giggling. Jo ignored her, and squeezed some body wash into her hand.

"Well try." Jo said, putting the bottle back on the narrow shelf and rubbing the soap onto her arm. Meg looked up at Jo, then held her good palm up in the air, an innocent look on her face.

"I can't do it with one arm." She said.

Jo smiled, and once again took the bottle from the shelf. She squeezed some out into Meg's hand, and before she had even finished putting the bottle back, Meg attacked her, giggling.

Meg pressed the soapy hand against Jo's chest, her right hand sliding all over her breast as her mouth quickly found the other. Jo let herself be pushed against the shower wall, and closed her eyes as she felt Meg's warm tongue flicking over her nipple, her other being gently teased by Meg's hand.

"You're such a liar." Jo moaned, hands coming up to entangle in her hair once more. Meg hummed softly, letting her hand slide down Jo's body and around her hip to grope her once more.

"Won't you punish me?" Meg asked, looking up at Jo.

Jo looked down at her, a smile spreading slowly across her face. "You're a very very naughty girl, Meg. Maybe I should punish you."

Meg straightened up, kissing up Jo's body. "Mmm you should." She said. She was about to kiss Jo on the lips, when Jo reached up and pressed a finger to Meg's lips.

"Consider this punishment." Jo said cheekily, turning away and continuing with her shower.

Meg glared at Jo's back, then sighed. "You know as well as I do, that wasn't what I was talking about." She pouted.

Jo laughed. "I know. That's what makes it great."

"If you say so." Meg muttered, sliding closer to get her head under the hot shower spray.

"Shampoo me?" Meg asked. Jo obliged, turning around and squirting a few drops of shampoo onto Meg's wet hair. She then proceeded to run both of her hands through Meg's hair, and Meg slowly leaned forward until her forehead was against Jo's chest.

"That feels nice, Jo." Meg said softly. Jo smiled, saying nothing.

A few minutes passed in silence, before Jo reluctantly withdrew her fingers from Meg's soapy hair.

"All done." She announced, before starting on her own.

Meg smiled, and leaned forward again to rinse her hair, her one good hand running through her hair to make sure she got it all.

"How's your shoulder?" Jo asked, stepping closer to rinse her hair out.

Meg shrugged. "It kind of hurts, but nothing I can't handle." She said. "And your leg? It seems far more serious than my wound."

Jo shrugged. "Hurts when I put pressure on it, but other than that, it's an inconvenience." She said.

Meg smiled, and kissed Jo's shoulder. "You're so strong, Jo."

Jo began washing Meg, running her hands all over her body as she gently scrubbed at her skin.

"You are too, Meg. Moreso than you think." She said quietly.

Meg said nothing; she closed her eyes and enjoyed Jo's touch on her body.

All too soon, Jo was done. Meg opened her eyes to look at Jo, and smiled at the toned girl.

"All done?" Meg asked.

Jo nodded. "Time to get out." She said. She grabbed Meg around the waist, and pulled her close. At first, Meg thought she wanted a kiss, but her eyes widened and that thought immediately fled her mind as Jo cranked the tap to cold, holding her tightly.

A second later, and the water stream turned ice cold. Meg shrieked as the water rained down on her, sending shivers down her body.

"JO, YOU'RE SUCH A JERK!" She yelled, struggling to get free. Jo laughed, but didn't let go.

"JO I FREAKING HATE YOU, LET ME GO! How does this not bother you?" Meg said, trying to lean away from as much of the water as she could.

Jo chuckled, then shut off the water. Meg glared at her, then winced when one last icy droplet fell onto her nose.

"Meanie." Meg said.

Jo smiled, and let her go as Meg opened the shower door.

"It wasn't that bad." Jo said, her fingers trailind down Meg's arm to take hold of her jerked her hand away, glaring at Jo.

"No." She said. She shivered as the relatively cold air hit her skin. The water droplets began to evaporate off her skin, leaving her further chilled.

Goosebumps popped up on Jo's skin, but she otherwise showed no other reaction to the cold.

"You know, if you gradually adjust the temperature of the water down from warm to cold, as your body adjusts to it, it isn't nearly as cold when you get out." Jo said.

Meg shrugged, still pretending to be mad at Jo. "I don't care, I just get out." She said.

Jo said nothing, she merely observed Meg's attitude carefully.

"Are you mad at me?" Jo asked, wrapping a towel around her wet, naked body. Meg said nothing, but copied Jo's movements. Or tried to. It was impossible with one arm. She merely held the towel to her chest, and let Jo watch her bare backside sway back and forth as she left the bathroom.

Jo followed Meg out of the bathroom, and into the bedroom.

"It was just a joke, Meg." Jo said.

Meg smiled, knowing Jo couldn't see it. She quickly let it fade from her face as she turned to sit on the bed, avoiding Jo's gaze.

Jo sat down on the bed beside her, and reached out to tilt Meg's head up to look her in the eye. That was when Meg pounced, leaning forward and pushing Jo back with her good arm. Jo's eyes widened as she fell back onto the bed, and Meg straddled her, careful not to hit her injured leg.

"You're in trouble, Jo." Meg whispered, her wet hair falling down around her face as she leaned down within inches of Jo. Jo's dark red eyes betrayed only her desire for Meg, as she raised an eyebrow. "Am I now?" She asked.

Supporting herself with her good arm, Meg slowly leaned down further until her lips were barely touching Jo's.

"Yeah, you are." She whispered. Jo reached up, and tucked Meg's wet hair behind her ear, before sliding her hand to the back of her neck and pulling her into a kiss. Immediately, Meg felt Jo yield with a partially open mouth, and Meg forced her tongue inside. Jo's warm tongue slid past her own, and and their lips pressed together tightly, hungrily. Meg felt Jo`s fingertips sliding lightly up her legs, and across her hips. Jo`s hands found her back, and Meg arched her back, hips pressing against Jo as she was tickled slightly. She giggled, and broke the kiss to look Jo in the eye.

"That tickles." She whispered. Jo smiled. "It's cute when you giggle." She replied. Meg blushed, and leaned in for another kiss, when Jo stopped her with a finger to her lips.

"We need to change your bandage first." Jo said. Meg hesitated, then nodded. She kissed Jo's fingertip, then slowly moved off the girl. She sat down on the bed beside Jo, completely naked. The bandage was soaked, and stained dark with blood.

Jo sat up, and reached forward, gently finding the edges of the tape and peeling it off her wet skin. The adhesive was weakened by the hot water, and came off easily. The bandage, however, was a little tougher. Jo peeled it away slowly, not wanting to hurt Meg as bits of healing skin shifted, pulled and ripped. Meg winced, and Jo shushed her soothingly.

"This isn't one of those bandages that you can just rip off quick to avoid the pain." Jo said. "Doing that can cause more harm to the wound." Meg nodded, as the last of the bandage pulled free. Jo got up, and disposed of it in the garbage can beside the bed, before retrieving the first aid kit. She sat down on the bed, and opened it. She grabbed tweezers, and a cotton ball. She handed a small bottle of antiseptic to Meg, and instructed her to hold it firmly while she pressed down and twisted off the child-proof cap. Gripping the cotton ball with the tweezers, she dipped it into the antiseptic, and then gently dabbed at Meg's wound with it.

"It may sting a little, but be a tough girl, and I'll give you a treat later." Jo said. Meg nodded, not speaking as Jo continued her work. A few minutes later, and Jo was done with that. She inspected the wound very carefully, and noted a few signs of healing; namely, the regeneration of healthy tissue. It was minimal progression, but would get faster with time. Jo couldn't really do much else now that it was clean, so she prepared to rebandage it.

It only took a minute or so, and Jo gave Meg a quick peck on the cheek as she patted the last piece of tape in place.

"It looks okay, minimal healing is taking place. I think you ripped most of what had healed, you need to be easier on your arm." Jo said. "If you keep setting back the healing process, you're going to scar."

Meg frowned. "Only you can pull off scars and make it look sexy, Jo. I would look terrible!"

Jo smirked, then set the first aid kit aside on the floor. She didn't respond; she wasted no time in pushing Meg on her back and climbing on top of her.

"You will always be beautiful, no matter what." Jo said, running her hand through Meg's damp hair. Meg closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into Jo's hand as it cupped her cheek.

"You're so good to me Jo." Meg whispered. "I love you."

Jo smiled, and kissed Meg's forehead. "I love you too." She whispered. She continued her trail of kisses to her cheek, then down her neck. She crossed over and lightly kissed Meg's wounded shoulder, before moving down. Jo kissed her chest, licking the water droplets from her sweet-smelling skin. Meg moaned quietly when Jo's warm tongue slid across her chest, teasing her already perky nipples with warm breath, and soft lips.

"Mm Jo..."

Jo loved the sound of Meg moaning her name, and she gently bit Meg's tight stomach in approval. Meg's hips twitched in response, and Jo kissed her soft skin. Her nose touched Meg's hip as her lips inched lower, and she inhaled deeply. Meg smelled so good. So, so good...

Jo looked up, and smirked in satisfaction when she saw Meg's eyes closed, head tilted back. Her hand was running through her hair, pushing it back, before falling to her chest to gently knead her breast.

Jo lowered her head, and slid lower. Meg's legs were already slightly apart, her hips quivering in anticipation of Jo's hot tongue. Jo positioned herself comfortably between her legs, and Meg spread them a bit wider to accomodate her. Jo slipped her arms around Meg's thighs, and held onto her hips as she lowered her mouth to Meg's tantalizing skin. Meg moaned loudly, and Jo began lapping slowly and lightly between her legs.

The taste was unique, something she had never experienced before. It certainly wasn't bad; in it's own way it was rather addicting. The better Jo made Meg feel, the wetter she became.

Jo flicked her tongue over Meg's engorged clit, before sucking on it gently. Meg gasped before she could control herself, and Jo could feel her tensing up.

"Mmmnn Jo, I've never felt anything so good before..." Meg breathed, hand sliding down her body to entangle her fingers in Jo's hair. Jo loved the feeling of Meg's fingers tightening in her hair, gently pressing her face closer, her hips bucking uncontrollably as Meg moaned her name.

Jo began to slowly kiss her way back up Meg's body, her warm, wet tongue tracing a teasing path back to Meg's throat. Meg arched her back, pressing her body into Jo's tongue. Jo reached Meg's lips, and Meg kissed her hard, licking her lips as she tasted herself on Jo. Her blue eyes were dark with desire, and her heart was beating fast. The blood pounded through her veins, as she thought briefly of forcing Jo down and ravaging her body.

Meg smirked as she decided that was exactly what she was going to do. Meg kissed Jo hard, then slipped her good arm around her shoulders. She then pulled Jo down to her side, and rolled over, switching their positions. Jo looked up at her with dark red eyes, licking her lips.

Meg grinned, and grabbed Jo's wrists. She pinned Jo's wrists above her head, holding them tight as she lowered her lips to Jo's dark skin. Meg's teeth nipped her throat, her collarbone, anywhere her teeth could find, treating the warrior much more roughly than she had been treated. Jo gasped, and moaned as she felt Meg's teeth break the skin of her shoulder, drawing blood. Meg slowly licked up the warm liquid, before kissing a trail back up to Jo's throat. She closed her eyes, and gently nuzzled Jo's throat with her nose.

"Mmm Jo, you're so delicious...I wanna lick and suck every single part of you."

Jo felt desire heating every part of her body, and she ached for Meg's touch all over her body.

"Please do." Jo whispered. Meg grinned naughtily, before gently nipping Jo's earlobe. She then slowly kissed a trail down Jo's throat, stopping for a moment to suck gently on her soft skin where her throat met her collarbone.

"God Jo, you're so hot." She whispered, her lips pressed against Jo's flushed skin. Meg let go of her wrists, and slid her hand slowly down Jo's arm, her nails digging harshly into her skin. Jo bit her lip, and closed her eyes, moaning softly.

"Moan for me Jo." Meg said, digging her nails in deeper. Jo clenched her teeth together, but a second later, a whisper escaped her lips.

"What was that, Jo?" Meg asked.

"Harder." Jo begged. Meg smiled, and gently slid a fingertip down Jo's chest. It was almost ticklish, and Jo moaned. "Tease." She breathed. Meg slowed, and traced lazy circles with her fingertips around Jo's waist and hips, across her stomach and around her toned thighs.

Just when Jo couldn't stand the near-ticklish teasing any longer, Meg dug her nails into her skin, and slowly clawed a ragged trail from her right hip, up across her stomach. This time, when Meg lifted her hand away, there was blood on her fingertips. Smiling innocently, she slowly licked the blood off her fingers.

"You taste good, Jo." Meg whispered. She lowered her head, and slowly slid her tongue across the red scratches, soothing the marks, and tasting the slightest hint of blood among the lightly muscled stomach. "So damn good..." Her voice was smooth, sultry, nearly purring with satisfaction and pleasure.

Jo's breath was coming faster now, the teasing proving too much for her.

"Please, Meg..." She begged, her voice full of desire. "Make me yours."

Meg slowly kissed down her stomach, raw desire controlling her every move.

"I would love nothing more." She whispered.

Long into the night they traded kisses and caresses, the moans of passion filling the room as they repeatedly proved their love for each other. Neither stopped til the other was exhausted, and when they were done, they fell asleep in each others arms, not letting go even in their deepest sleep.

Jo awoke slowly, a smile on her face as she remembered last night. It was truly amazing, the way Meg had made her feel. Special, loved, cared for, unlike anything she had ever felt before. Meg had worshipped her body many times over last night, and Jo hoped she had adequately returned the favor.

She groaned quietly, stretching. She was careful not to disturb the still-sleeping girl next to her. She slowly turned onto her side, and watched the red headed girl sleep peacefully beside her. She was so beautiful. Everything about her was perfect, and Jo couldn't ask for more.

Smiling, Jo reached out and gently stroked Meg's cheek. Her thumb slid softly across her cheek, and her fingers caught a few stray strands of her hair. If it were possible, Jo thought, she was even more in love with the girl than before. She never wanted to be away from her.

Meg's breathing slowly deepened, and increased slightly in pace. A few minutes later, and a soft moan preceded the opening of her beautiful bright blue eyes. They quickly closed as Meg yawned, then opened again to focus on Jo.

"Good morning love." Meg said softly. Jo smiled, unable to look away from her gaze.

"Morning. How did you sleep?"

Meg yawned again, then scooted closer and pressed herself up against Jo, nuzzling into her warmth. "Slept good with you here. You?"

Jo wrapped an arm around her and held her close. "The same."

They were silent for another ten minutes; Jo listened to Meg's breathing, and Meg listened to Jo's heartbeat. Meg was almost lulled back to sleep by the sound of her beating heart, but was pulled back to consciousness by Jo's gentle movement.

"Mmmn what are you doing, Jo?"

Jo slowly worked her way out of bed, and stood,stretching. She yawned as well, then bent over and tucked the blankets tight around Meg.

"I'm thirsty, I want water." She said. "Want me to bring you anything? Drink? Food?"

Meg thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Water is fine." She said. Jo nodded, and turned away. She was about to walk out the door, when Meg stopped her once more.

"And Jo?"

"Yes Meg?" Jo asked, turning around.

"Cover up." Meg said, the jealousy evident in her voice. "I don't want anyone looking at you."

Jo smiled, and bent down. She picked up a shirt off the floor, and pulled it over her head. She ran a hand through her ruffled hair, and placed her other hand on her jutted out hip.

"How's this?"

Meg eyed the shirt that ended mid-thigh, then nodded. "You're good."

Jo smirked, and turned around, padding out on bare feet. Meg stared at the door where she had disappeared, then closed her eyes and snuggled into the warm blankets. She inhaled deeply, the scent of Jo comforting her and pulling her slowly back to sleep.

The man bore an arrogant expression upon his rough features, as his dull brown eyes surveyed the eight men he was in charge of. Four men lined one wall of the chopper, four more along the other wall. They were currently airborne and flying toward their target.

"Today, we have a task. It is rather simple and straightforward, but that is no reason to be lax. We will find and eliminate Jo, Bailan's lead mercenary."

There were dissenting murmurs from the men, and the leader slammed the butt of his rifle against the wall of the helicopter.

"Shut up! She's only human. She's a girl. Yes, she is skilled. Yes, she has killed a lot of men and women. But as her reputation grows, so does her strength. She will cast fear into your hearts, and doubt into your mind. She will make you doubt your abilities. Your ability to take aim and shoot at another human. This is all something we have done before. Do not let her reputation instill fear and doubt in you!"

The men fell silent as they contemplated their leaders words.

"She is also highly skilled with her war machine. Flanking us are six highly skilled pilots in high quality machines. When they have destroyed her cybot, she will come out bearing arms, fighting like a caged animal. We will move in at that point, and neutralize the target. Leave all others alive. Do not, under any circumstances, direct fire toward Sei, nor Amy. These orders are very explicit, as you have been briefed. I trust you have all committed the photographs to memory. Failure to follow these rules of engagement will result in death."

"What about her partner?" One soldier asked. "There weren't many details regarding her."

The leader grinned savagely.

"I would like to say, shoot to kill. However, this is not the case. Ideally, we are looking to capture and detain her. Our higher ups have their uses for her. If capture is not possible- remember, even with Jo dead, we can expect heavy resistance from the rest of them, and we are ordered not to engage them under any circumstances-, then shoot to maim."

There was a uniform agreement and salute. The man stroked his chin slowly, surveying his team.

"Make no mistake. Bailan's best WILL die today. It is up to you to make that happen. If the mission is deemed a failure on any part of yours, you will be killed. Better to die in battle, than to die a coward. Fight your hardest. Your life depends on it."

The commander sat down on the bench, and the sound of metal snapping together was the only sound that echoed throughout the bay.

"We will reach our target in twenty-five minutes, gentlemen. In a few short minutes, I will go over the general battle plan with you, and with the pilots via radio comm."

Jo sipped from her glass of chocolate milk, as Meg snuggled up close to her. They were both laying in bed. Meg had downed her water as soon as she had gotten it, while Jo continued to slowly drink her chocolate milk.

"What's the weather like outside?" Meg asked. "We should go for a walk later."

Jo was silent for a moment, then leaned down and kissed Meg's head.

"It's overcast. Going to rain today." She said quietly.

Meg hummed softly, acknowledging Jo's words, but not replying to them. They were silent for a few minutes, before Meg spoke.

"You don't want to go for a walk in the rain." It was a statement, not a question.

Jo was quiet for a long moment as she slowly took another sip from her cup.

"You know that I prefer less dreary weather." She said carefully.

"You never explained why."

Silence once more.

"You don't need to if you don't want to. I don't need to know why, I'm comfortable just knowing that you don't."

Meg looked up at Jo, and found that she was staring into space, silent, brooding.

"Jo?"

Jo's dark eyes flicked to Meg's worrying blue ones, and for once they didn't soften when they met Meg's blue orbs. It was proof that Jo was looking, but not seeing. She was lost in time, one of her countless memories.

"I never really liked the rain, but I never hated it. It was one of those reminders that, when I was soaking wet, it was because I had nowhere to go to get out of it. It annoyed me. I didn't like it."

Meg was silent. Her eyes widened as she saw Jo's brow crease, anger taking over her pretty features.

"Then that day, it was raining hard. I didn't want to go out in it, but you insisted. I told you no, so you went out by yourself. I watched you laugh and run around for half an hour, having the best time of your life. Watching you calmed me. I fell asleep not too long after that, and when I woke up, it was dark. It was pouring rain, a strong rainfall that made me panic. I couldn't see through the rain. I couldn't see you. The rain was cold, uninviting, and I couldn't find you. Couldn't..."

Jo's breaths were rapid and shallow, and Meg was scared. This was the first time she had ever seen Jo like this. It was the first time she had heard about anything like this.

"Jo, what's wrong?"

Meg could feel Jo trembling against her, and she didn't know what to do.

"Jo, it's fine, I'm right here. Are you okay?"

Jo couldn't seem to hear her. Her eyes narrowed further, and her lips pulled back in a soundless snarl to reveal her sharp white teeth. Meg was taken aback, but reached out and touched Jo's face.

"J-Jo?"

"I was so scared that you had abandoned me. I didn't know what to do. It felt like it was going to rain forever, and you left me. You left me. You left, and I...I didn't know where you were. I was scared. I wanted you back. I cried."

Meg felt tears forming in her eyes, but she paid them no heed, leaning forward and kissing Jo on the lips.

"I'm right here." She said. "I never left. I came back."

Jo blinked, then refocused her gaze on Meg. Her pupils dilated, and she blinked again.

"You did come back. Hours later, long after I had cried myself out, I heard your giggles through the rain. Seconds later, you materialized in the darkness. You ducked under the old wooden roof, and sat down beside me. You hugged me, and told me how much fun you had playing in the rain. I was glad you couldn't see how worked up I had gotten. I was glad you hadn't abandoned me."

"Oh, Jo, my love. I would never leave you. Not for anything or anyone." Meg said. She kissed Jo again, and patted her on the head.

"The rain is a beautiful thing. Sad, yes. But beautiful. It reminds me of you. That's why I love it so much."

Jo looked at her. "How so?"

"It's...comfortable...familiar. Beautiful, just like you. It has so many secrets, yet is absolutely flawless."

Jo stared at her silently, then looked away.

"I don't like the feeling of rain on my skin." She whispered. "I don't think I ever will."

Meg was silent, thinking of Jo.

"Why would you think I would abandon you?" She asked.

Jo shrugged. "I don't know. Because I was different. Because you felt like it. So many reasons that made sense at the time. I don't remember them all now."

Meg stared at Jo's profile. "Does the rain bring up those bad memories?"

Jo nodded slowly. "Sometimes...the rain wakes me at night. It's hard to sleep. When I do sleep, I dream. Of losing you. Losing you in a rainy maze. I can't find you. I call out your name, but my voice is swallowed by the hissing rain. You never hear me, and I never see you again. I can never find you. Alone, once again, left to cry in the rain."

Meg wondered if Jo's voice had been breaking toward the end, but figured it was best not to pry.

"I'm sorry Jo. I'll never leave you."

Jo stood, looking down at Meg. "I know you won't." She said. Meg smiled up at her, then got out of bed. Jo tossed some clothes onto the bed as Meg stood, stretching her good arm over her head.

"Get dressed, let's see what we can make of what's left of the day." Jo said. Meg nodded, and then hesitated. "Help me?" She asked cutely. "It's hard with only one arm."

Jo nodded. "Of course." She said. She moved forward and picked up the shirt. She brought it up as she gazed at Meg, and for the first time that morning, she got a real good look at the naked, messy-haired redhead looking up at her innocently. Jo closed the distance between them swiftly, taking Meg into her arms. The shirt hit the floor as their lips met, and was forgotten by both of them within seconds.

000.

"The strategy will be as follows. The six cybots will engage first. The objective is to draw Jo out of the trailer that she and the gang occupies, and get her away from them. She will no doubt respond with her cybot, so that lets us kill another bird with that stone. Not only is she separated from the pack, but we will swiftly destroy her cybot. With that taken care of, the pilots will have pulled her into a deserted district of downtown. Lots of buildings, offering height and concealment advantage. We cannot lose. If her team happens to show up before we are done, exercise extreme caution when firing."

The soldiers responded with a strict salute, and the commander nodded slowly. "Ten minutes until contact. Check final weapon loadout."  
A clamoring as weapons were inspected, then reinspected. Everything and everyone was in place and ready to go.

000.

Jo stared out the window, watching the rain fall. It was falling pretty hard; it looked cold. It didn`t seem like a light, warm inviting rain at all. The sky was dark with heavy clouds; it would be raining for a while.

"Glaring at the rain won't make it go away, Jo." Meg said. Jo didn't look at her, gaze fixed on the raindrops streaking down the glass.

"It makes me uneasy." She said. "Even from inside the trailer, I can feel the cold."

Meg didn't know what to say. She looked out the window, but saw only the quiet rain. It tugged at her; she wanted to run outside and play in it like she used to. Although she would have settled for a romantic walk.

"Jo, the rain won't hurt you." Meg said, teasingly. Jo looked at her, and smiled.

"Are you sure about that?" She asked.

Meg nodded. "I'm sure."

Jo nodded, then got up. "I'm going to go change." She said. "This rain is foreboding. I do not like it."

Jo disappeared down the hall, and Meg continued straightening up the kitchen.

Meg had already changed into a pair of tight-fitting jeans, and a black shirt. Jo, however, had remained in nothing but panties and a shirt, so it was understandable that she was feeling a bit uneasy and exposed.

Meg walked over to the trailer door, and slowly opened it. The hiss of rain reached her ears, and she smiled absent-mindedly. Inhaling deeply, she closed her eyes as the scent of cold rain flooded through her. Cold air rolled in, and raised goosebumps on her exposed skin, but it didn't bother her. She took a few steps out, and although she was sheltered from the rain by the roof of the trailer, it didn't stop the spray of mist from hitting her skin. She raised her eyes to the sky, and let herself get lost in thought of days long past.

Jo leaned against the doorframe, and watched Meg stare up into the cloudy, rainy sky. What was fascinating up there, Jo would never know. She was merely content to watch Meg.

She felt much more secure in this dark environment with her red jacket on, scarf tight around her throat. The weight of her guns on her hips was comforting. It felt right.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a tap on her shoulder, and she turned to come face to face with Sei.

"Yes, Sei?" She asked.

Sei watched Meg as she spoke. "Since the last attack we have expanded our surveillance systems. And now we are picking up seven approaching airborne vehicles." She said. "Get Meg inside, and get into Django. They are still a few miles out, but they are coming in this direction and we can afford no mistakes."

Jo nodded, and instantly bolted down the steps. She stopped at Meg's side, catching the girl's attention.

"Enemies are approaching, Meg. Come inside."

Meg nodded, and turned around, trotting toward the trailer door. She took one last look over her shoulder toward the rainy skies, then stepped into the trailer. Jo hauled herself in behind her, and slammed the door shut. She locked it up behind her.

Meg started jogging toward the armory, as the trailer roared to life. Sei wasn't taking any chances either, choosing to have the trailer running and warmed up if and when the enemy attacked.

Meg stopped at the door to the armory, and quickly keyed in the password. The electronic lock disengaged with a quiet click, but before she could open the door, a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

She looked up, and felt herself being turned around. Jo pushed her against the door, and stared deep into her eyes.

"I love you Meg. Be careful. Stay out of harm's way." She said, her voice low. She barely let Meg reciprocate her feelings, before hugging her tight and pressing their lips together fiercely. The kiss was short, but passionate. When it was over, Jo took off toward Django, not looking back.

Meg figured the strategy would play out much like last time. Jo would fight with Django, and Sei would keep the trailer moving while Amy, herself, and Leo provided support for Jo.

Her thoughts were reinforced when Leo and Amy came through the door of the armory. Meg wasted no time in taking control of the situation.

"Leo, you're going to be the heavy hitter again. You're good with them, so load yourself up with whatever you feel like. We're going to be lending Jo support. Grab yourself a wireless two-way radio from the wall too. Amy, grab two radios, one for yourself and one for Sei. I know she has communication to the entire trailer and Django with the trailer communications system, but this way we are all on the same frequency. Also, bring her this."

Meg picked up a Glock sidearm, and inserted a magazine into the handle. She didn't rack the slide, she didn't want Amy running with a loaded weapon. She handed the gun and the two radios to Amy, and told her to get a move on. Amy nodded, and ran out of the room. Leo had clipped his radio to his belt, and was browsing the weapons.

"I'll meet you topside, Leo." Meg said, slinging two belts of ammo over her shoulder, and picking up the M-60 with the bipod attachment. She walked out of the armory, and headed down the hall toward the access ladders that led to the roof. She slung the weapon across her back, and climbed the ladder. She pushed open the access hatch, and climbed out. The rain was falling steadily, and she couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face at the feel of cool drops on her skin. She quickly set up her gun on the bipod, and fed one belt of ammunition through it. She racked the slide, and the gun was ready to go. She quickly climbed back down the access ladder, and jogged back toward the armory, shaking drops of water from herself. She would feel safer with a sidearm, in case they were breached again, and she still needed her Anti-Tank Rifle.

She passed Leo in the hall, who carried a loaded RPG on his shoulder, and another rocket propelled grenade in his hand. He flashed her a confident grin, and she smiled back at him.

Once more in the armory, she surveyed the hand held weapons. She was fond of the one she had given to Sei, although truthfully she had only fired it twice, under the direction of Jo. The guns like Jo carried, the big Desert Eagles, they had too much power for her. She couldn't hold them straight, resulting in terrible aim, and had never fired one for fear of having the gun rip out of her hands.

She quickly settled on Walther P90 handgun, and loaded the magazine with rounds as quickly as she could. Once it was full, she slid it into the gun, then cocked it. She flicked the safety on, and put the gun in the waistband of her pants, in the small of her back. She swiftly loaded another magazine for it, and that went into her back pocket. She then picked up her ATR, and grabbed three magazines for it. Loading them as well, she stuffed one into the gun, and the other two found their way into her pockets.

On her way out, she grabbed her cowboy hat that was hanging on the wall, and put it on her head. She tilted it down a bit, then grinned.

Jo swiftly ran through the startup procedure for Django, and was glad to hear the turbos come online as a soft yet persistent hiss at engine idle. She couldn't wait to hear them roar at full throttle.

"All seven enemies still inbound...radar indicated that they have shifted formation. Six are leading in standard cybot formation, while one craft is hanging back from the rest." Sei's voice reported.

Django's imaging system came online, and approximate speeds and distances were given for each of the enemies displayed on the map. Jo cast a quick glance at it, before switching displays. The map disappeared, and Django's stats came up. There were readouts for each engine's temperature, RPM, and load, as well as RPM for each turbo, and a temperature display. Beside each was a boost gauge indicating each turbos' function. There was exhaust temperature, oil and coolant temperature and quality gauges, and hydraulic pressure indicators. Her fuel gauge read full. Nearly all of these would fluctuate as demand on the craft changed throughout the battle. Jo once again changed the screens output. Next up was a list of her loadout, and ammunition count. Django was leaving the bay with the standard handguns, and the rounds she held in the gun as well as on the craft was displayed. It updated in realtime as every shot was fired.

Jo thumbed the communications button, and her radio cracked and buzzed.

"How long until you open the bay doors? Are you going to wait until they are on top of us, opening fire?" Jo asked. She released the button, and Sei's voice came back. "Standby for hatch opening in thirty seconds."

Jo nodded, and slowly slid the engine throttle sliders to maximum. The engine speeds of all three engines quickly rose, and Jo switched back to her craft stats display to watch everything in realtime. The engine's RPM counters rotated around the dial until they pointed straight up; the turbos reached a maximum of 120 pounds of boost each. Engine temperature, oil temperature, exhaust temperature, they all began to rise. The turbos reached a piercing whistle, and it was music to Jo's ears.

Just then, the hydraulic whine of the bay doors opening reached Jo's ears, and she gripped the controls tightly as rain began falling on the cockpit glass.

"Fifteen seconds until you're deployed." Sei said. Jo switched to radar. The six enemies were four miles out, and closing fast.

"Time to stretch my legs." Jo said to herself, as her craft was propelled from the trailer. She landed upright, and she immediately put Django through it's paces.

The bay doors began closing, as the trailer's engine began revving up.

"Good luck Jo." Sei said. "We'll be helping you as best we can."

Sei put the two-way radio down, and jerked on her seatbelt. It locked reassuringly, and she inhaled slowly. She held her breath for a moment, then exhaled.

"Okay, time to do this." She said. She picked up the two-way radio, and pressed the button.

"Amy, Leo, Meg, hold on. We're moving out."

She set the radio down, and pressed the clutch. She shifted into first, and popped the air brakes. With a hiss and a groan of metal, the hefty trailer began rolling forward. Sei slowly let out the clutch, giving the engine some throttle as she did so. She reached over, and shut off the hydraulic throttle control. When engaged, it automatically raised engine speed to make the hydraulics that operated the bay doors open faster and easier. The engine was now under her control, and she pulled away from where they had been parked for the last week, accelerating hard.

"Contact in approximately ten seconds." Sei heard Meg's voice say over the two-way. Sei turned the trailer, letting her gunners face the incoming enemy threat.

A few seconds later, and she heard Meg opening fire with the M-60. Sei smiled, as she glanced down at the digital map that told her where Django was in relation to her vehicle. Meg was growing into an excellent young fighter, of that she was sure.

Sei double-clutched through the gears, riding the engine hard. If she were easier on the throttle, she would be inside the rev-matching shift zone for clutchless shifts, but precision wasn't the name of the game today. She had to make tracks, and she had to be hard on the throttle to do so.

Hair blowing in the wind, rain blurring her vision, Meg pulled her cowboy hat onto her head tighter, not wanting it to get blown away. All six of the cybots had swarmed Jo, trying to overwhelm her with sheer numbers. Meg didn't think that was very nice, and squeezed the trigger on her M-60 with a vengeance.

"Meg, get ready with your rifle. If I make a hit with one of these rockets, I want you to finish off the target with your rifle." Leo's voice came through the two-way radio. He was only fifteen feet away from her, but the roar of the wind, rain, and sounds of combat and gunfire made it too difficult to yell to each other.

"Ten-four." Meg said. She released the handle of her M-60, and the smoking barrel fell silent. She wrapped her right hand around the pistol-grip of the rifle, and slid her finger into the trigger guard. She looked through the scope, and sighted the group of cybots swarming around Django.

A second later, and a wave of heat washed over her as Leo fired an RPG. It streaked toward the cybots with a slightly wavering path, but Leo proved to be accurate as the grenade slammed into the side of a black cybot. It exploded with bright colors, contrasting sharply with the dark smoke that immediately began to leak from the craft. It began slowing, unable to keep up with the rest of the cybots, and Meg let her scope wander over it. She sighted for the cockpit, and took a deep breath. She slowly exhaled as she pulled gently on the trigger.

The rifle exploded with a deafening bang, and a half second later, the cybot she had aimed for exploded in a shower of hot metal, detonating ammunition, and burning fuel. She grinned, and racked the slide, reloading.

Jo felt the explosion rock Django, and she heard Sei congratulating Meg over the two-way radio. Jo grinned, and accelerated down the bare streets, forcing her craft to top speed as fast as she could. The airborne units gave chase, and Jo wondered idly how Leo had fared on making Django fly. She decided to ask.

"Hey, Leo, did you ever get Django to fly?" Jo asked, releasing the comms button as a few rounds dinged off Django's armor. She whirled Django around, and slammed the craft to a stop as she took aim with both of her guns.

Immediately a hail of gunfire from the six cybots fell down upon her, but Jo paid no attention to it. Django's targeting system swiftly centered on the closest cybot, and Jo squeezed the triggers as fast as she could.

Django's guns went off loudly, and four bullets found their place in the cybot before the cybot leaned to the side and abandoned the head-on charge. It swooped away, circling around for another pass.

The other four cybots slowed to a stop in mid-air, concentrating their fire down upon Jo.

"Yeah, press the button located on the right controller. It should be accessible with your pinky. That reroutes the booster jets to face straight down. The best I could do was give you a straight up jump, with decent hangtime. Use the boost pedal to activate. Press again to reroute to normal horizontal thrust."

Jo quickly pressed the switch, then slammed her foot down on the booster pedal. Django launched into the air, Jo pressed firmly into her seat. She released the boost pedal after a second, and the momentum carried her straight up into the middle of the swarm of cybots.

She levelled off in the air facing one of the surprised pilots, and she smirked at him. She stuck the guns out to either side of her, and rapidly pulled the triggers. Never breaking eye contact with the slow-reacting pilot in front of her, her smirk grew as dual explosions rocked her craft. She had fired multiple shells into the cockpits of two cybots, instantly killing the pilots and destroying the crafts.

As Django fell back to the pavement below, only three of the six cybots remained. Immediately, one of them broke formation, and fled south. Jo paid no attention to that one; she would chase it down later when she was finished with the two facing her.

One fell to the pavement, and produced another machine gun, weilding two. The other stayed in the air, obviously trying to distract Jo with multiple levels of incoming fire.

Jo laughed, and took off, accelerating Django to top speed. She raced through the streets, wanting to see if the pilots could keep up. The heavy rain pounded on, relentless.

Meg grimaced as Jo took off out of their range. Sei had turned down a side street to try to loop back around and follow her, but until they reached higher speeds, Django was much faster.

"Sei, keep an eye on that radar. I want to know where that other cybot went." She said. "It was carrying something weird, too."

"It's nearly out of radar range, and still moving away." Sei's voice came back over the two-way. "I'll keep you posted on its movement."

The engine revved as Sei shifted gears, then dropped to a lower pitch as she engaged the clutch, accelerating hard.

Jo concentrated her fire on the cybot chasing her; it was giving her the most problems. It was attacking with a high rate of fire; the other cybot was following in the air but didn't seem to be attacking.

Jo took off into the air, aiming her guns down at the grounded cybot. As she passed in front of the airborne cybot, she was blinded by a strong red light. She grimaced, and released the boost pedal. Django stopped accelerating upward, and began falling back toward the ground. Warning sensors went off in the cockpit as bullets slammed into her, penetrating some of the weaker spots on the craft. She ignored them, and turned her guns toward the airborne following craft. It wasn't shooting at her, and that blinding red light was suspicious...

Her eyes widened as she realized what was happening.

"Sei, where is that other cybot?" Jo yelled, targeting it and firing as quickly as she could. The craft was nimble though, and evaded most of her fire. It began to drop back, out of her range but still within visual sight of her.

"Jo, it's out of radar range. I think it retreated."

Jo growled. "I don't think it has! Was it carrying anything? I didn't notice at the time..."

"Meg says it looked weird, like it was carrying something, why? What are you so worked up about?"

Jo grimaced as more rounds slammed into her cybot. She boosted backward, bringing her guns down to target the attacker.

"I'm being targeted by a laser designator."

"Fuck."

Jo said nothing, concentrating on the job at hand. Finally, her rounds seemed to have an effect, and the right arm of the attacking cybot exploded. Down to one weapon, the cybot pressed doggedly on, getting closer to make more use of its automatic weapon.

"You guys are beginning to piss me off!" Jo yelled, slamming both joysticks forward. She had been skidding backward, trying to fight off the attacking cybots while fleeing, but it wasn't working. So she slammed both joysticks forward, and brought her foot down on the boost pedal. Django decelerated hard, then, after a quick moment of inertia, rocketed forward under full boost. The chasing cybot had no time to react, and Jo lowered Django's shoulder into the hit. They collided head-on, Jo leading with her left shoulder and firing with the gun in her right hand. Her reinforced cybot cut through the enemy, smashing it to pieces. Django shuddered violently, and a warning went off signaling structural damage to Django's right arm. Jo ignored it, as the wreckage of the enemy collided into a building. The building collapsed, burying the broken, twisted heap of metal.

Jo turned, and set her sights on the laser designating cybot. Sure enough, it had a rifle in it's hand, but instead of firing bullets, it was firing a barely noticeable laser, which he had been targeting Django with for well over two minutes.

"Jo, we have confirmed missle launch!"

Jo cursed, and pressed the comms button. "How many, and what kind?"

"Four laser-guided anti-tank missles. They shouldn't be too much of a bother for you. That's what the cybot who fled launched. But..."

Jo targeted the last remaining cybot, and opened fire.

"But?" She asked. "Come on Sei, this isn't the moment to be building suspense. Just tell me."

"A missle launch has been confirmed by a warship off the coast. Estimated arrival is four minutes. In less than one hundred and twenty seconds, it will be travelling nearly a thousand kilometers an hour. The target is you."

"The hell is it, an ICBM?" She asked. "This is fucking rediculous."

"Not an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missle." She said. "Of that, we are sure. Amy is running a check to see who is doing patrols in that area of the coast, and will return with a list of arms they will be carrying. We will cross-reference that data with what we know about the missle and get back to you."

Jo ground her teeth together in anger, gripping the controls tighter. She wanted support from Meg and Leo, but she couldn't go near them. She had to pull Django away from the pursuing trailer so that they wouldn't get caught by the approaching missle.

"Stop pursuing me, Sei." Jo instructed.

"What? Why? We need to lend you support to get that targeting laser off of you." She said.

Jo shook her head. "I don't know what they launched, but it's going to be big if they launched it off a warship. I don't want you caught in the blast radius."

"But Jo, w-"

Jo shook her head, and overrode the communications. "It's too late for me. Stop chasing me. Or you will be killed too."

There was silence, and Jo focused on the last remaining cybot. They had obviously given the most important job to the most skilled pilot. She could barely get a lock on the damn thing, much less hit it.

"Incoming anti-tank missles." Sei informed, her voice dead. "They will reach you in thirty-five seconds."

Jo whirled her craft around, and looked toward the horizon in the direction the enemy had fled. A few seconds later, and she caught a glint on the horizon. She brought her guns up, and targeted them calmly. She wasn't even worried about the cybot behind her. He wouldn't shoot her. His only job was to keep that laser on her.

Low on ammo, Jo squeezed off three careful shots. It was clear she missed when there were no explosions on the horizon. Too far away. She patiently waited, heart thudding in her chest. Blood pulsed through the veins in her throat; she could feel the pressure near her temple.

When she could start to make out four individual specks, she started firing again. She missed again, however, getting frustrated.

"I can't fucking hit these things!" She yelled, whirling on the cybot behind her.

"Now you die!" She unleashed a torrent of gunfire upon him, but he skillfully evaded her shots. He was extremely light; he had discarded all weight as well as his ammo and rifle when it came time to employ the laser designator, and now Jo was having trouble hitting him.

Aware that missles were streaking toward her at an alarming rate, Jo felt panic coursing through her for the first time since she could remember.

"Why won't you just die?" She screamed, boosting closer to her target. He once again flitted away, out of her range, zigzagging left and right to avoid her gunfire.

Meg saw the missles approaching, and she turned her M-60 to the skies.

"Leo, we only have one shot at this!" She called out. "Sei, pull us in line with their trajectory!"

Slowly, the trailer began to come around until it was facing the missles head on.

"Use your fastest firing weapon, Leo." She instructed, hurriedly loading a new belt into her gun.

"They are low on the horizon, and well within our range. Just don't shoot them when they get too close, or we will be taken out!"

Their barrels pointed to the sky, and Meg held her breath, waiting as they roared closer.

"Ready...steady...FIIIRE!"

She squeezed the trigger on her gun, and directed the fiery red tracer rounds toward the incoming missles. Leo aimed an assault rifle in their direction, holding the trigger down.

Meg's rapid fire impacted the lead missle, and it exploded instantly, taking out the one flying directly behind it. Two more were inbound, and Leo's rounds found their mark; one more exploded harmlessly in the distance.

"Cease fire!" Meg cried, ducking down as the sub-sonic missle streaked by about sixty feet above their heads. They turned around, watching the missle fly toward its target. Jo.

Meg immediately dropped the M-60, and picked up the Anti-Tank Rifle. This, more than anything, was why she wanted the trailer in line with the missles flight path. The target was getting smaller, but it wasn't moving left or right.

She sighted through the scope, and inhaled. She found her target, and gently pulled the trigger as she exhaled. The rifle jerked in her hands as she expected it to. She compensated for the recoil, her aim straight and true.

She held her breath. A second later, she was rewarded with a deafening explosion. The last missle fragmented brightly in the dismal, rainy sky, no longer a threat to Jo.

"Jo, the four missles launched by the cybot are no longer a threat. I repeat, threat eliminated. In one minute, forty seconds, the missle launched by the warship will be upon you. Hurry up and destroy the designator, then get the hell out of there!"

Jo was glad that she didn't have to worry about the incoming missles anymore. She needed to relax. She had just under two minutes to get this done. She breathed deeply, and thought about her situation. Running would not help. He would follow, targeting her the entire way. It was obvious he intended to die as well. The target needed to be painted by the laser all the way until the missle impacted the intended target. It was a GPS system. If he simply pointed it at Jo, turned on the GPS, then took off, Jo could leave the spot the missle last got coordinates from, and the plan would fail. If Jo moved, the laser had to follow, informing the missle about the change in location of the target. She needed to actively pursue this target. Make him back-pedal, and hopefully, screw up.

She aggressively boosted toward the cybot, closing the distance between them as quickly as she could.

"Sei, update me every ten seconds on how much time I have left."

"Forty-seven seconds." Sei responded.

Jo cursed as the cybot smoothly boosted to the left, sliding around Jo and getting behind her. Jo turned Django as harshly as she could, boosting toward the target as quickly as she could. She brought her guns up, and fired once. The shell bounced harmlessly off the armor plating. Jo cursed.

"Forty seconds."

The cybot boosted away from her very quickly, and Jo struggled to keep up. She only had eight shots left. The situation was getting desperate. Sweat was forming on her forehead. She took aim, and fired again. Another miss. She chased him down, closing the distance. For a split second, the laser blinded her, throwing her into a rage as she realized the odds were stacked against her so rediculously, that she wondered if she would be alive in the next minute. Her hope was starting to dissipate.

"Thirty seconds. Jo, finish it! There's no time left!"

Jo swallowed dryly. She had seven shots left, thirty seconds, and no hope of taking out this infuriating target. What the hell was she supposed to do...?

Jo strafed to the right, bringing her guns up once more and squeezing off two shots. One bullet nicked the laser designating rifle, and Jo felt a spark of hope. She fired three more times, but the pilot had recovered, and they were all misses.

"Twenty seconds...Jo, we're pulling back, out of the blast zone. It's a Commodore series missle, quite a hefty payload. A surface impact will result in lethal damage for ten to fifteen blocks in each direction, a devastating blast zone, levelling everything, with non-lethal, life-threatening damage beyond that for another eight hundred feet. God speed, Jo. I hope you make it out alive."

Jo felt her heart sink into despair. She felt tears in her eyes, as she thought of Meg. The situation was so hopeless. What the hell could she do? Anger coursed through her at the realization that there was nothing she could do. Nothi-

Her eyes widened, eyes darkening as she realized that the cybot, backing away from her, had backed straight into a building. Her lethal instincts took over as she realized this was her only chance. As the cybot came to a complete stop, Jo took aim. Right before the pilot could extract himself from the mess, Jo fired her last two shots. The bullets streaked through the air, and sliced right through the connecting joint of the arm that held the laser designator. The arm, rifle, and pieces of metal fell to the ground, the laser skidding across the asphalt before coming to a stop pointing at the side of the building. There was a split second where neither pilot moved, then, as if by unspoken agreement, they ignored each other. This area was a kill zone, and neither pilot wanted to be in it.

Jo turned, and forced her craft to full boost, trying to get as far away as possible from where ground zero was less than ten seconds away from being created. Jo gritted her teeth, running a mental countdown in her mind as she sped down the abandoned streets. Over the noise of Django, she could hear a quiet whistling. Similar to her turbo, but yet, quite different. It steadily grew louder. Just when Jo thought she was going to go deaf, the whistling stopped. For a split second, there was nothing. Then, a flash of light from behind her illuminated everything in front of her. Still she pressed on.

The shock wave was next, slamming into Django from behind with a brutality that Jo had never felt before. The cybot was lifted fully off the ground, hurtling forward. Jo was pressed back into the pilots seat as she accelerated swiftly. The ride ended as roughly as it had begun, dropping Django to the pavement. The cybot skidded across the pavement, tumbling end over end, crumpling and twisting until the craft came to a rest on its back. The cockpit glass was spiderwebbed with cracks from the impact, but not shattered. It had fourteen layers of polycarbonate lamination, and each layer was composed of over two hundred individual layers, only microns thick. In the silence, the raindrops falling on it seemed to be almost too loud. Jo had been knocked around roughly despite her harness, and was dizzy when she opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred, and she couldn't hear anything. A second later, a wave of heat passed over Django, raising the internal temperature by at least thirty degrees in a split second. It was accompanied by a roar so loud that Jo was quickly redeafened. The heat stole the breath from her lungs, and some small logical part of her brain realized that she had been very close to the epicentre of the explosion. Gasping for breath, she clawed for the hatch release. As her fingers found the metal latch, she quickly pulled away, yelping. It was too hot to touch. Inhaling through her nose, she smelled acrid smoke. Electronics were burning. The air was filled with the smell of plastic melting. Coughing, blood sprayed from her throat in a mist, coating her left wrist. She could feel a warm wetness from her ears, and when she reached up to investigate, her fingertips came away bloody as well. She moaned, and tried to inhale again. She once again choked on the air, unable to get enough oxygen from it. Ignoring the pain searing through her hand, she grabbed the cockpit release, and pulled it toward her. It was jammed. She pulled on it as hard as she could, but it wouldn't budge. Eventually, the pain and exertion got to her, and she released it, breathing hard. She inhaled deeply, starving for air. Vision swimming, she pulled out one of her guns. Unable to see, she pointed it in the direction of the jammed latch. She pulled the trigger four times, then reholstered her gun. She leaned in close, straining her eyes to see in the burning, smoke-filled cabin. The latch looked like it had been busted off, and she pushed hard against the glass. Slowly, ever so slowly, the rubber weather-stripping gave away, the hatch opening up on tortured hinges. Heated, yet fresh, wet air filled the cabin, sweeping away the choking smoke. A few more breaths, and Jo's tender lungs slowly began to take in oxygen again. She undid the latch on the seat restraint, and pushed the roll bar out of her way.

She wiped blood from her face, and slowly climbed from the wreckage of Django. When she pulled herself out, she tried to stand, but her legs were shaking and too weak. She collapsed, and rolled down the wreckage of Django. She fell off the machine, and fell eight feet to the broken asphalt below. She landed painfully on a jutted chunk, crying out in pain as she felt one of her ribs break. Her breath was coming in shallow gasps now, as pain seared through her. She squeezed her eyes closed, shaking her head. She could hear the roaring of fire, the groaning of hot, stressed metal. Above that, she could hear the faint sound of chopper blades beating the air. She slowly stood, and walked away from the wreckage of Django, disoriented and confused. She clutched her side, feeling the broken bone move beneath her hand. Ignoring it as best she could, she slowly walked away from the burning chunk of metal. She had no idea if the fuel tanks had ruptured or not, or what was fueling the blaze, but she didn't want to be around in case anything exploded.

The sound of a helicopter grew stronger, and Jo looked up to see a helicopter approaching in the distance. Jo didn't think it would be friendly, so she hurriedly scanned the broken, burning landscape for anything that would conceal her effectively.

Her eyes landed on a section of road that had buckled up from the explosion, and she scampered over to it as quickly as her injuries would allow. The asphalt had lifted completely off its packed gravel base, chunks of it still holding together. She got down on her hands and knees, and crawled under the buckling asphalt. Dirt and sand was kicked up as she crawled forward, and she breathed it in through her nose. She ignored it though, and made sure she was completely underneath the asphalt. It wasn't the best hiding place, nor was it the safest, if one of these slabs decided to fold and collapse, but it would have to do. She left herself relax, laying on her uninjured side, and tried to calm her labored breathing. Her side was killing her, and her body ached all over. She wanted to just lay here, in the relative coolness, the hissing rain lulling her into a stupor, and close her eyes...just...rest for a moment...

A bang brought her back to consciousness. She also heard a loud whomping sound. Her disorientation took a moment to fade, and then she realized that a chopper had landed nearby. She had heard the sliding door being opened, banging against the door-stops at the end of its track. She heard distant shouts, a commander ordering his men. She couldn't have passed out for more than a minute; the fire was still roaring and there was an unbearable heat in the air. She guessed that was the chopper she had seen in the air.

Struggling to stay conscious, Jo didn't bother to peek around the corner of the asphalt to see how many men there were. It didn't matter. One lonely man could easily kill her now. The fact that there were more than one meant nothing to her. She couldn't hear the words over the sound of the helicopter idling, but she could make out a strong, commanding voice. The commander was issuing orders. Probably to find her.

Eyes closed, senses overloaded with pain, Jo's hearing wavered in and out. She briefly wondered where Sei and the others were, then realized that they were probably very far away. They had said they were retreating. Jo herself had even recommended it...

Suddenly, a roar, then the hiss of air brakes. Tires squealed to a stop, and Jo could feel vibration through the asphalt. Gunfire erupted almost immediately.

"Find Jo!" Sei's voice commanded. "She can't be far if those soldiers are here! Go, go go!"

Jo heard footsteps slamming closer to her position, and she figured there was a high chance it was friendly.

"H-here!" She cried out, her voice dry and weak. "In here!"

The footsteps stopped, and Jo cried out once more. The heavy footfalls continued once more, hurriedly stomping over. A second later, and Leo's face filled her vision.

"Jo!" He cried. "Are you okay? I'm surprised you lived!"

Jo shook her head, coughing. "I'm not done yet." She warned. She reached out, and Leo obliged, reaching in and gently pulling her out from under the road surface.

"Good hiding place." He said,surveying her. "Now, you need to get aboard the trailer while we finish off the bad guys."

Jo shook her head, and slowly stood determinedly. "I'll finish them." She said, strongly.

Leo shook his head. "I don't know about that. They seem pretty determined to kill you, and it looks like they almost suceeded. They aren't returning fire upon myself, Sei, Meg, nor Amy."

"Amy is out there?" Jo asked, confused. "Why? She's just a little tech girl."

Leo chuckled, supporting her thin frame easily as they walked toward the trailer. It was between them and the enemy, protecting them from gunfire.

"She was the first one out when the trailer stopped." He said. "Little Glock in her hand, firing wildly. I don't think she hit a single thing before the clip ran out and Sei grabbed her up."

Jo grinned, swallowing dryly. The metallic taste of blood was in her mouth, but she ignored it.

"Where's Meg?" Jo asked. She turned and fell against the trailer wall, breathing shallowly to avoid hurting her broken rib. She wanted to rest for a second. She was sore, soaked, and dirty.

"Out front, exchanging gunfire with the rest of them." Leo said.

Jo's eyes hardened, and she pushed herself away from the trailer wall, all thoughts of rest forgotten.

"Meg shouldn't be out there. It's too dangerous." Jo said. Her holsters opened up as her fingers brushed against her gun handles. She pulled them out, already cocked.

"Jo, wait, you're too injured!" Leo said, reaching out and putting his hand on Jo's shoulder.

Jo whirled around, her blood red eyes wild with anger. She leveled one of her guns at Leo, and growled violently.

"I appreciate your help, but I've warned you about Meg. Don't make her your business. She isn't."

Jo wasted no time pulling away from the speechless man, taking measured steps toward the front of the trailer. She rounded the front end, and saw Sei with a rifle pressed against her right shoulder, sighting through the scope. Amy was behind her, peeking out around her hips.

Meg was down on one knee to the right of Sei, gun held in both hands. She had it pointed in the same direction.

Jo grimaced, and took a deep breath. She winced as she felt her rib pushed aside, but ignored it as best she could.

"Sei, get Meg and Amy inside the trailer." She commanded, brandishing both of her guns with a flourish as she pointed them in the same direction as the other girls.

"Jo, you're oka-"

"GO!" Jo said forcefully, cutting off Meg. She didn't look at the girl, but strode forward purposely.

"It is clear that someone wants Sei to be spared. They are taking cover and not returning fire. I, on the other hand, am a different story. Get inside. I'll clean up here."

Sei didn't miss the accusing tone to Jo's voice, but there was nothing she could do right now. She slowly lowered her left arm, and tapped Amy twice, indicating for her to slowly move backward. Amy did so, and Sei followed, weapon pointed in the direction of the soldiers in case they changed their mind. When they were safely around the corner, Meg stood up, backing up as well.

"Jo, let me fight with you."

Jo turned her head to look at Meg, and the bared teeth were all the answer she needed.

"It isn't safe. Don't argue with me." She growled.

"But Jo!"

Jo ignored her, walking forward into the open.

"Come fight me!" She yelled, slowly spreading her arms apart to encompass a larger area with her two barrels.

Immediately, two soldiers stood up, rifles at the ready. They were on opposing sides, but Jo's guns were faster. Jo found her targets, and squeezed off four shots. Soundlessly, they flopped to the ground as quickly as they had risen. Another black armor-clad soldier stepped around a pile of rubble directly in front of her, firing off a shot in her direction. Jo quickly turned her body to the side, minimizing her profile as the bullet sliced through the air near her head. She brought her left arm up, and fired a shell straight into his head. He too flopped to the ground lifelessly.

Jo's face was expressionless, her mind blank as she scanned around for more threats.

Meg peeked around the edge of the trailer, gun in her hand. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it would leap from her chest. Jo was in a really vulnerable position right now, and the hiding soldiers didn't help matters. So far, Jo was faster on aquiring targets and pulling the trigger, but that was merely luck. And it could run out any time.

Another soldier stood up from behind a waist high concrete slab and opened fire. Jo whirled around to shoot, but a bullet impacted her left thigh. Instantly, she fell to her knees, cursing as blood began pumping out of the wound.

She fired off two shots, but the soldier ducked back behind cover. To her left, another enemy stepped out, firing off a burst of rounds before ducking back behind cover. The hastily aimed rounds skittered across the pavement, missing Jo by a few feet as her guns swung around to point at the already hidden attacker. Breathing heavily, Jo tried to stand but found she couldn't. Grimacing, she looked around, watching for the slightest of movement that would indicate an attack. Although, she now knew the location of two enemies.

Suddenly, Jo heard movement behind her. Panic gripped her as she wondered if an enemy had swept around the side unnoticed and was coming up behind her. Turning around as quickly as she could, her eyes widened as she saw Meg dashing toward her, gun drawn.

"Meg, no!" Jo cried. Meg ignored her, and Jo wasted no time turning back to the direction she was sure gunfire would be coming from.

Sure enough, her eyes caught a soldier pointing his gun at her, and fear rippled through her as she realized she didn't have enough time to react. His gun opened fire, and Jo braced herself for impact, squeezing her eyes closed. The hit she was expecting never came; Meg impacted her left shoulder, pushing her over harshly as she threw herself in the opposite direction. Jo slammed into the ground, her rib protesting painfully as bullets zipped over her head. She groaned, opening her eyes to see Meg laying on her side a few feet away, squeezing off round after round from her gun. The soldier was hit by at least four bullets, and hit the ground, quite dead.

Another one stepped out, taking aim at Jo on the ground. Jo's fear-filled eyes looked despairingly at the enemy, sure that her luck had run out. This would be the killing shot.

She distantly heard Meg curse; a soft grunt, then the sound of shoes impacting asphalt. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw another soldier appear. Not with a weapon, but with a face of anger, pointing at the attacking soldier.

"Stop! Don't kill the other girl! We need her alive!"

The enemy, riding on a battle high, never heard the words as he squeezed his trigger. The fully automatic gun jerked in his hands, discharging round after round in Jo's direction.

Jo heard Meg screaming her name, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the muzzle flash that erupted from the gun. This was it. Hot rounds would slam into her, tearing her apart and finally killing her.

Suddenly, Meg was filling her vision, blocking her view of the assaulting soldier. Adrenaline spiked through Jo's bloodstream, and her heartrate skyrocketed as she realized Meg was putting herself in front of the attacking soldier's bullets. Disbelief numbing her senses, she watched as Meg's body jerked with each impact, one tearing clean through her shoulder and out the back. The exit wound immediately flooded with blood, as Meg's tortured scream filled the air. Her body hit the ground inches from Jo, and Jo leaned over as Meg rolled onto her back, coughing. Jo could hear the enemies shouting at each other, but she couldn't hear the words. They didn't matter anyway.

Hands shaking, Jo reached out and touched Meg's cheek.

"You idiot." Jo whispered. Disbelief colored her tone. "What did I tell you? I told you to stay away!" Her voice grew louder, fear making it tremble as she took in the damage. Meg's black shirt was becoming soaked with blood, warm and sticky as it coated Meg's skin. Jo's mind was racing as she realized the extent of the damage. Meg had been shot in her left shoulder, no doubt tearing through the previous bullet wound and causing a great deal of pain. A bullet had pierced her chest, and another one had struck her in the stomach. Blood was quickly pooling on the dirty ground around them. Meg's breathing was rapid, light, and a slight whine emanated from her clenched jaw as she struggled to hold back an agonized scream. The terror was plain on her face as her wide blue eyes stared into Jo's.

"Jo...Jo. I'm scared." She whispered, tears forming in her eyes. Jo clenched her teeth together, unwilling to believe what was happening. Her hands clenched into fists, wishing there was an enemy she could fight that would make all of this better.

"Meg, I'm so sorry. If I had..." Jo trailed off, unable to speak as tears filled her eyes and her chest became heavy.

Meg began crying hard, terror taking over as she fully realized she was dying. Her body shook with shuddering sobs.

"Jo, I'm so scared, I don't want to die!" She gasped, reaching up with her right arm and slipping it around Jo's neck. She pulled Jo close, hugging her as sobs wracked her body.

"I don't want to leave you. I need you Jo!" She said. "Jo, help me!" She begged. "It...it's getting hard to breathe..please...please don't let me die Jo!"

Jo held Meg tightly, her own grieving sobs making it hard to speak. Tears streamed unchecked down her cheeks, eyes squeezed shut as she held a trembling, terrified Meg as tight as she could.

"Jo, I'm afraid to die." Meg whispered. "I'm afraid to go away and be without you."

Jo pulled away, and gently wiped the tears from Meg's cheeks. Her fingers left bloody streaks on Meg's face.

"Meg, listen to me. Wherever you're going when you die, I'll be there, waiting for you. You will never be without me." Jo whispered, staring into Meg's terrified blue eyes.

"Trust me, Meg. This angel loves you, in life and death. I never left your side in life, and I'll be by your side in death. A love like ours cannot be broken by death. I will always be with you. I promise. I love you to death."

Jo leaned down, and kissed Meg's lips softly. She could taste the blood on her lips. Her own heartbeat was racing in comparison with Meg's slowing one. Meg held her tightly, although her grip was slowly weakening, bit by bit.

Jo kissed her softly, passionately, listening to her heartbeat slow. A few more seconds, and Meg would no longer be in this world.

Jo slipped her right hand into Meg's, intertwining their fingers. Meg's fingers twitched, then closed on Jo's hand, holding on as tightly as she could. Jo brought her left hand up, gun in her hand, and pressed the cold barrel to her temple.

Meg slowly stopped responding to the kiss. The strength faded from her grip on Jo's hand. Her heart beat once more, then was silent.

Eyes squeezed shut, her heart breaking, Jo pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed painfully in the ears of those left standing in the pouring rain.

A/N: Reviews, comments, criticism, all appreciated. Thank you for reading my fic. I am planning out another Burst Angel fanfic, if you are interested in reading more from me.


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